Donald Salmon, farmer and president of the Jamaica Coffee Growers Association (JCGA) — an organisation representing 80 per cent of the annual production of Jamaican Blue Mountain Coffee (BMC) — says that more than 300 farming families and communities are being negatively affected by the failure of the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MOAF) to come to the table over acquisition of Wallenford lands.

Once the premier producer of coffee in Jamaica, Wallenford Estate was sold to Michael Lee-Chin’s AIC International Investments for US$16 million ($1.6 billion) in 2013. The deal saw new owners offer to pump an additional US$23.5 million into the factory and coffee farms to upgrade the 5,000-acre estate.

Wallenford then had the capacity to process over nine million pounds of coffee in its facilities.

The Government, meanwhile, rid itself of an ailing company which, at the time, had accumulated losses of $2.36 billion (US$23.6 million) since 2004 and held net assets of $67.75 million as at February 28, 2013.

However, in the intervening years, AIC also purchased Mavis Bank Coffee, another large BMC producer and consolidated operations in that entity.

Since 2019, the Jamaica Observer understands from reliable sources that Wallenford has been reoffered to the Government of Jamaica (GOJ), with the statement that it would be best sold to the farmers who lease the lands on the property.

One of the challenges facing the Lee Chin-led consortium, which the two estates have become, is that many of the farmers have ceased paying their required leases and negotiations over time have broken down.

The Business Observer reached out to a source at Wallenford for an update on the response of the MOAF to the offer for repurchase. The response was there has been no feedback, but that the estate was aware that farmers were in discussion to buy the property.

The source said, “The Government should have tried to offer it [the land to the farmers]. There has been dialogue with the [Jamaica] Coffee Growers Association and lease farmers. They want the Government to buy it back and give it to them.”

The source noted that a private sale of the property would be hampered by the land lease riddle, and so the issue needed a fix which was best seen as the Government repurchasing the property and selling to individual farmers.

Repeated requests

Salmon, who also serves on the board of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), told the Business Observer, “Despite repeated requests, the JCGA has not met with the Government.”

He noted, “We have had extensive discussions with Wallenford. Wallenford is willing to negotiate, but they are handicapped by GOJ policy.”

Salmon noted that the estate in question contains over five thousand acres of land producing BMC and all other coffee categories in all major coffee-producing parishes in Jamaica.

“This is affecting more than 300 farm families and communities. Currently farmers are required paying $2,000 per acre per year. Farmers are unable to do formal business because of short tenure of lease which discourages investment.”

Salmon stated, “The JCGA is now formulating a plan to be presented to the Jamaica Agricultural Society for assistance in negotiating with the Government of Jamaica.”

He said, “The farmers are very restive and are demanding a meeting with the Government. This could lead to major disturbances especially due to the verdict in the Prince Smith case. Farmers believe that others will follow in the footprint of Prince Smith.”

The Prince Smith case is one in which a Blue Mountain Coffee farmer from Moy Hall, whose family had farmed his 10-acre property since the time of slavery, lost the property to an investor who claimed to have acquired the land by buying related debt.

Smith, who became embroiled in court over the matter for half a decade, went to court to defend his stake of 10 acres which he says has been passed down to his family over generations.

Smith himself became a [cooperative] member, joining 75 farmers in his community. Although the cooperative was dissolved in 2010, monies were borrowed from a bank.

The claimant who asked the court to remove Smith said he had purchased the property from JMMB.

In a Supreme Court decision this year, Smith lost the case and 875 new trees plus 18,000 fully grown coffee trees.

Prince, who had secured a lease through the farmer’s cooperative, had coffee plants valued over $2 million on about seven acres.

Heard on February 1, 2022, his appeal for an injunction preventing the purchaser of the cooperative’s debt from taking possession was thrown out with evidence of the aged lease presented as coming too late.

Farmers, Salmon explained, have become increasingly insecure in their outlook since the judgement. Also, they are unable to secure loans to support crop and business development due to insecurity of tenure.

Their prolonged request to the GOJ to consider buying back Wallenford and selling to them so far has not been responded to.

The Business Observer has been reaching out to the MOAF for an update on the repurchase of Wallenford lands since earlier this year. On November 28, an assistant to Minister Pearnel Charles Jr responded to say, “Please get in touch with the communications department. That is their area of expertise.”

The JCGA head clarified, “Farmers are really seeking government guidance and are willing to pay a reasonable price for the land which they occupy. We are not seeking government handouts or freeness. Farmers will pool together to purchase, hence the ball is the Government’s court. We are therefore seeking comprehensive land reform.”