MONTEGO BAY, St James — The Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project has been designated a national development project, allowing for greater speed and efficiency in its execution.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green made the disclosure at the launch and ground-breaking ceremony in Short Hill, St Elizabeth, last Friday.

Being undertaken at a cost of some $26 billion, the project will bring 4,000 hectares of fertile land in south St Elizabeth under irrigation and will benefit up to 6,000 farmers and households.

Construction will begin this year, with the intake and initial pipelines to the first reservoir expected to take approximately two years.

Green said that the project marks a new phase in agricultural development, driven by strategic planning and lessons learned from earlier initiatives.

“We have learned a lot from the Essex Valley Project [in St Elizabeth]. That is why the Cabinet has already approved that the Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project is a national development project,” he pointed out.

He noted that the development far surpasses Jamaica’s previous irrigation investments.

“Before this, our biggest irrigation project was the Essex Valley Project, which is bringing 1,200 hectares, about 2,500 acres, under irrigation. Pedro Plains will bring significantly more,” he said.

The minister also highlighted the long-term economic benefits of the undertaking.

“The feasibility study said, at minimum, we will increase production by 35 per cent, and that’s with the present levels of land that were surveyed. We know that down here [St Elizabeth], not only can we feed Jamaica, but we can also help to feed the entire world,” he contended.

Green said that the project, which includes agro-processing and storage infrastructure, is about transforming agriculture.

“The Pedro Plains Irrigation [Expansion] Project will come with agro-processing facilities and cold storage that will be built in the project area so that as we produce more, we can store and sell,” he said.

For his part, France’s Ambassador to Jamaica Olivier Guyonvarch noted that the French Government gave a grant of €500,000 for the preliminary studies for the project, which was done by the Société du Canal de Provence.

He expressed confidence that the project will contribute to the development of St Elizabeth and the wider island.

“It’s going to be a game-changer …. for the food safety of Jamaica, for the tourism industry of Jamaica, and for the exports of Jamaica,” Ambassador Guyonvarch said.

“This showcases the good relations between France and Jamaica. We are so proud that French companies and the French Government contribute to the development, to infrastructure, and to the future of Jamaica,” he added.