Hundreds of millions being spent to boost cold storage capacity, says Green
KINGSTON, Jamaica — The Government is spending hundreds of millions of dollars to create cold storage capacity for the nation’s farmers.
These include the construction of one of the largest agricultural storage facilities in the country in Essex Valley, St Elizabeth.
“This facility will span 24,500 square feet and have the capacity to hold 22 containers of food. It will include dedicated cold storage, ambient storage, a purée processing area and a brine preservation section,” said Agriculture and Fisheries Minister Floyd Green.
He was speaking on Tuesday during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives.
He also pointed to the 350-square-metre cold storage facility in Content, Kirkvine, Manchester, which is being constructed at a cost of $124 million. This facility will benefit over 1,500 farmers and producers, and is set to be completed by August of this year.
Green said that by September, another 2,635 cubic metres of cold storage will be available for use by farmers and producers in Colleyville, Manchester.
“We will also continue the implementation of the $165 million Agri-Business Cold Chain Pilot Project at the Ebony Park Agro-Park in Clarendon. This project will feature a 6,103 square foot facility, including 2,500 square feet of cold/chill room space, with the capacity to store up to 273 tonnes, approximately 600,000 pounds of fruits and vegetables at any given time.”
Green said that through the Caribbean Community (Caricom) /New Zealand BOOST cold storage project, the Government is “establishing renewable energy-powered cold storage in Flagaman, Pedro Plains”.
“These developments will meet the growing demand for storage space and strengthen our agricultural supply chains,” he said.
Taking a swipe at the Opposition, he said, “This is the difference between talk and action.”
He added, “When our tomato farmers face a glut, or our sweet pepper farmers have an oversupply, there will be a facility to store or process the excess, not waste it. This is not a promise to build, and it is not political gimmickry. Unlike those who only talk about giving farmers storage, we are delivering.”
