JP Farms Limited has plans to revive agro-tourism activities as part of its operations in Annotto Bay, St Mary, after facing disruptions from the Panama disease tropical race 4 (TR4) and novel coronavirus.

General manager of JP Farms Mario Figueroa told Jamaica Observer during a tour of the company’s banana, plantain, pineapple and coconut fields in the north-eastern St Mary town that agro-tourism activities will resume next year.

“Before COVID we started agro-tourism. It was suspended when the TR4 was discovered in Colombia and afterwards COVID came,” he said.

The TR4 disease, which affects banana and plantains, is caused by the fusarium odoratissimum fungus that lives in the soil. The fungus is not eradicable and can survive in the soil for decades without host plants. It is easily spread by people, vehicles, machinery and animals that have been in contact with infected banana plants and planting material.

“We have already the protocols established. We only need to build some structures to ensure [when] everybody comes [they] disinfect the shoes and things like that,” Figueroa, a Nicaragua native, explained, adding that vehicles will also be sanitised before entry onto banana and plantain farms.

The resumption of tours of the farms is consistent with plans to construct accommodations for overseas guests to book through online reservation site Airbnb. Already, Figueroa said, the company has begun deforesting the location earmarked for the cottage.

“[Also] we have pretty good villas in Robins Bay. All of that would be aligned with the project,” Figueroa shared.

JP Farms will, however, utilise the service of a tour company to market the property to visitors. According to JP Farms marketing executive Gayon Douglas, the tours and accommodations will be marketed as a stop between Kingston and Portland or between St Ann and Portland.

Based on JP Farms location, its Airbnb project will be a part of the Revere Zone, a high-end tourism corridor that spreads from Ocho Rios in St Ann, and ends in Portland. The creation of the corridor, announced earlier this year by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, forms part of the Government of Jamaica’s plans to diversify the island’s tourism product with low-density tourist developments as part of a “village-type tourism model” but with sophisticated facilities.

As part of the JP Farms tour, visitors will be afforded the opportunity to taste the fruits and snacks produced by the company.

“The purpose of the Airbnb is for more community tourism. So we’d be inviting church groups and youth who are going to do service in the surround St Mary areas,” Douglas disclosed.

As part of preparations to revamp agro-tourism, JP Farms has hosted tours for schools including Penn State in the US; College of Agriculture, Science and Education in the parish of Portland, and The University of the West Indies, Mona. Next week students from Ebony Park HEART Academy in Clarendon will visit.