The Agro Investment Corporation commenced its Agricultural Land Owner Match Programme in May of last year, extensive research was carried out and it was realized that there were persons who owned vast amount of land that could be used for agricultural purposes and the land was sitting idle. The Agro Investment Corporation’s mandate is to facilitate agricultural investment and development and as such the Corporation took this to task and launched the programme to get all unused land into agricultural production.

Also, we know that the leasing process can be a hassle for some persons who are unsure of the lease proceedings especially the legal aspect of it. Therefore, Agro Invest’s aim as well is to take the hassle from land owners who are interested in lease agreements for their unused land space.  We want land owners to apply and we will do the leg work in finding a suitable investor and creating the match.

The Corporation is targeting all persons who are in legal possession of 50 acres of land or more, whether they reside locally or abroad. Therefore, there is no limit to the target market. We will facilitate all applicants if they meet the criteria. This criterion speaks to ensuring that property taxes are up to date also persons should be in possession of a valid title for the property.

Should persons have less than the 50 acres of land, we encourage them to still apply, especially if the acreage is 30 or 40 acres which is quite sizeable. Agro Investment Corporation of course will be the facilitator of this arrangement between landowner and investor/farmer. There are 2 phases to the programme.  Under the first phase of the programme landowners interested in leasing their land will apply to us and we will do background checks and site visits to determine whether the property is feasible for lease.  The second phase involves promoting the property that is up for lease to acquire a suitable match.

BENEFIT OF THE AGRICULTURAL LAND OWNER MATCH PROGRAMME TO THE COUNTRY’S AGRICULTURAL SECTOR AND, BY EXTENSION, THE ECONOMY

 

The Agricultural Land Owner Match Programme will be beneficial in many ways to the agricultural sector… A few will be outlined:

  • It would certainly provide more food security as more persons would be engaged in agricultural production and this would enhance the sector greatly.
  • There will be more farmers providing inputs for our Agro processing companies and this would indeed contribute to the country’s GDP. Between 1991 and 2000, agriculture’s contribution to GDP ranged between 9.2 percent in 1995 and 7.1 percent in 2000. When Agro-processed goods are added, the contribution to GDP is about 16 percent.
  • Agriculture currently employs about 22 percent of the labour force, therefore with the creation of this programme it is hoped that more jobs will increase, which will up the labour force percentage, as persons seeking land to lease would most likely be employing persons to work the land.
  • Since the programme have begun the Corporation has received greater interest and applications from more women and youths who are interested in leasing land, therefore this is a plus for the agricultural sector.
  • The programme will assist in streamlining what is being produced. To expound on this, for persons who have an interest in leasing land to invest in agriculture but need guidance on the type of crops best suited for the land and soil type, experts in the field employed to the Corporation are available to provide recommendations to these investors as to what to produce.  Therefore, complete assessments will be done on each property under consideration.

HOW PERSONS CAN ACCESS APPLICATION FORMS FOR THE LAND MATCH PROGRAMME

Application forms can be found on the Corporation’s website at www.agroinvest.gov.jm as well as RADA’s website at www.rada.gov.jm. Both websites currently have all the information and documents that the land owner will be asked to supply.  Persons should download the forms fill them out and send them to our email address at info@agroinvest.gov.jm . There is an application fee of $5000.00.

As part of the process for the Agricultural Land Match Programme, payment instructions are emailed directly to applicants who have applied.  Applicants can either to choose to pay the application fee of J$5000.00 via four (4) methods:

  1. In Office at Agro-Investment Corporation
  2. In Bank Branch Payment to Agro-Invest’s Bank Account
  3. ACH/RTGS Online Bank Transfer
  4. Wire Transfer

AGRO INVEST CONTACT INFORMATION

Persons can contact us at 188 Spanish Town Road, Kingston 11, or call us on 876-923-9268, 876-923-0086, or 876-764-8071. Email- info@agroinvest.gov.jm

They can also visit is on our website at www.agroinvest.gov.jm and follow us on our social media pages @agroinvestja.