KINGSTON, Jamaica – Some $1.2 billion is to be invested in repurposing underutilised former bauxite lands for agricultural use, says Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green.

“What we are looking to do is to take those lands that are now being underutilised or that mining has been finished and they are now restored, and to put them into active production,” he pointed out.

Speaking during the sitting of the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives on Wednesday, the minister said that the investment will support a partnership involving the Jamaica Bauxite Institute, Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) and bauxite companies.

The project is expected to impact parts of Mocho, Clarendon; Water Valley, St Ann; and Harmons and Mile Gully in Manchester and the southern sections of the parish.

“Thankfully, now that we have mining within the ministry, it gives us an ability to focus more of those lands into agriculture. So, some of the money that you’ll see in the budget today across the Jamaica Bauxite Institute and Jamaica Bauxite Mining Limited is actually to repurpose some of those lands for agricultural enterprises,” the minister outlined.

Green indicated that the work will begin this year.

The Standing Financing Committee will reconvene on Thursday for a third day of reviewing the programmes and projects outlined in the 2024/25 Estimates of Expenditure.

-JIS