TREASURE BEACH, St Elizabeth — Agriculture Minister Floyd Green says his ministry is working with the Ministry of Tourism to explore the expansion of agro-tourism to boost visitor experience in this south-central parish.

“We are looking to do a major development in a place called Ginger Hill which has one of the best farm tours in Jamaica and it is one of largest pineapple growing areas, and just to see pineapples across hundreds of acres which are literally owned by hundreds of people,” Green said at JMMB’s Thought Leadership Breakfast at Jack Sprat in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, last Thursday.

“We are looking to see how we can work on developing the infrastructure so that people can visit, feel comfortable, and spend money and drive agro-tourism,” added Green.

He said other areas along Jamaica’s southern belt are also being looked at for agro-tourism.

“The bigger point is that the Government is on a dedicated drive to enhance agro-tourism, so what we are doing is to look at farming areas not just for their farming potential, the high productive zones, but also to see how we can turn those areas into genuine destinations for visitors — whether local or abroad,” said Green.

“People are into experience tourism more and a lot of people are unfamiliar with the growing practices of farms, and [we] see the opportunity that farms can make another source of income by opening up their fields for people who will come in. So Ginger Hill is one example, but the same sort of approach can be taken in places like Flaggaman — known for a significant amount of melon — [and] places like Bog Hole that is a vegetable belt in Clarendon.

“So what this allows is for the Government to re-look on agriculture to really ensure that it has that direct connection with tourism to create another source of income,” added Green as he pointed to the Government’s push to support farmers through the development of infrastructure including the expansion of the country’s road network.

“We are talking about now taking a holistic look to say, ‘We need better roads, we need to be able to get to these areas quicker,’ and that is why the Government has announced two highways that will come into St Elizabeth, because of that tremendous potential and the whole revamp of Black River,” the agriculture minister said.

In the meantime Alwayne Cousins, JMMB’s country chief partnership officer, in welcoming sustainable development said the company is fostering engagements among businesses to spur economic growth.

“We saw what happened [with Hurricane Melissa] October 28 [2025] — it changed a lot of our lives. Our business leaders who are here, our small business owners know of the impact. And I know we are resilient and so one of the things we have done here at JMMB is to ensure that we have taken these conversations in the community — and we are trying as much as possible to do this right across the island because we believe a growing economy needs its small and business leaders [engaged],” said Cousins.

Hotelier Jason Henzell lauded JMMB’s effort to engage business owners as he pointed out that small business operators and farmers are among scores of people who have benefited from fund-raising and donations organised by the BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation.

“Since the passing of Hurricane Melissa, between cash and kind we have given out over $100 million to this area… There are eight districts in Treasure Beach and we have given [assistance] to 56 districts, so we use the name of Treasure Beach to help surrounding districts and we are incredibly proud of that,” said Henzell who chairs BREDS Treasure Beach Foundation.

The foundation has been at the forefront of the restoration work in the southern section of the parish since Hurricane Melissa.

Business owners and leaders gather at JMMB’s Thought Leadership Breakfast at Jack Sprat in Treasure Beach, St Elizabeth, on Thursday. (Photo: Kasey Williams)