THE AGRO-INVESTMENT CORPORATION TO HOST AGRICULTURAL EXPORT WEBINAR

JOIN Agro-Invest as we host our Agricultural Export Webinar on November 24, 2022, under the theme: “AGRI-EXPORTS IN A GLOBAL MARKET – BREAKING THE BARRIERS…YOUR SUCCESS IS OUR SUCCESS”. The Webinar is geared towards providing relevant information to Agribusiness stakeholders on the process required to become an exporter while addressing the critical areas such as, agricultural export regulations for exporting, the opportunities available for Jamaican exporters, and how to finance an agricultural export business. The webinar seeks to be an engaging one and will see several presenters providing informative content and discussions into key aspects of the agricultural exporting arena.

Objectives of the Webinar: 

The webinar will seek to stimulate interest in the export of agricultural produce.

Specific objectives are:

• To provide a platform for sharing and learning about exporting Jamaican produce
• To allow farmers/investors to learn more about the export process
• To provide a platform for learning about the export opportunities available for Jamaican produce.
• To provide a platform for learning about the export registration process and regulations.
• To provide a platform for investors to learn about financing their agribusiness for export.

Presenters:

• JAMPRO – Topic: ‘Agricultural Export/Market Opportunities’
• Jamaica Customs Agency – Topic: ‘Export Requirements for Agricultural Produce/Products’
• Plant Quarantine Produce Inspection – Topic: ‘The Plant Quarantine’s Requirements and Inspection Process for Produce Export’
• National Peoples Cooperative (PC Bank) – Topic: ‘How to Finance your Agricultural Export Business’

The Agicultural Export Webinar will be presented live on MICROSOFT TEAMS from 10:00am – 12:00pm.

JOIN US LIVE as we look forward to having your presence and participation.

Kindly register using the link: http://bit.ly/3EJjrrl

Click here to join the meeting

Meeting ID: 252 227 279 191
Passcode: 7MggvM

Expanded Youth In Agriculture Programme

On Tuesday, August 9, 2022, 9 of 30 youths received their lease agreements through our expanded Youth in Agriculture Programme in conjunction with @jamaica4hclubs and @radajm.

Agro-Investment Corporation is on a fast track to ensure that at least 20% of the Agricultural lands we manage are reserved for the youths to assist them in their agricultural pursuits.

Youths will be placed across our Agro Parks and Production Zones and will plant crops such as sweet potato, hot peppers, okra, tomato, lettuce and several other priorities and cash crops.

Agro-Investment Corporation at Denbigh 2022 Album

HANDOVER OF LEASES TO YOUTH INVESTORS

HANDOVER OF LEASES TO YOUTH INVESTORS

On April 27, 2022, lease agreements were handed over to eleven (11) of the forty (40) youths selected for placement at the Toll Gate Mango Agro Park under the expansion of the Youth in Agriculture Programme.  The programme is expected to:

1. Increase access to government-owned Agro Park and Production Zone lands for eligible young farmers.
2. Improve the economic and social status of the youths.
3. Increase agribusiness knowledge and entrepreneurial skills among young farmers.
4. Focus on youths and technology and form clusters led by youths to facilitate knowledge sharing and collaboration in agribusiness activities.
5. Create sustainable linkages between young farmers and stakeholders in the agribusiness sector.

Youth investors pose with documents at the handover of leases to 11 investors to be placed on lands across the Agro Parks and Production Zones that are managed by the Agro-Investment Corporation. Ceremony was held at the Toll Gate Mango Agro-Park on April 27, 2022.

ADDITIONAL $70 MILLION FOR MANGO AGRO PARK INVESTMENT

AN ADDITIONAL $70 MILLION FOR MANGO AGRO PARK INVESTMENT

Government will be investing an additional $70 million this financial year to support the extension of irrigation services at the Toll Gate Mango Agro Park in Clarendon. This follows an initial $128 million that was expended by the Ministry to establish irrigation for 60 acres as well as roads and drainage system for the 935-acre property.

“This illustrates a level of commitment to helping you the investors within these agricultural spaces. We want you not just to strive, but we need for you to thrive, and the government has the responsibility of making sure that your investment is protected,” stated Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Pearnel Charles Jr.

The announcement was made at the handover of leases to 13 investors for land at the Toll Gate Mango Agro Park on April 27, 2022.

The investors have committed to invest at least $20 million in the production of high-quality East Indian and St. Julian mangoes on 935 acres of land for export to established markets in the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, and the Cayman Islands.

The Minister outlined that strategic management and technical support will be provided by the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC) to the mango investors to foster market linkages and manage the value chain.

He commended the mango investors on their investment and the agencies involved – Agro-Invest, the National Irrigation Commission, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, and the Jamaica 4-H Clubs – for their contribution to the project, describing it as “an amazing start.

Mango investors pose with documents at the handover of leases to 13 investors for the cultivation of East Indian and St. Julian mangoes on the 935-acre property managed by the Agro-Investment Corporation, held at the Toll Gate Mango Agro-Park on April 27, 2022.

ARGO INVESTMENT FORUM

THE AGRO-INVESTMENT CORPORATION TO HOST HYBRID

AGRIBUSINESS INVESTMENT FORUM

JOIN Agro-Invest as we host our first Hybrid Agribusiness Investment Forum on April 21, 2022, under the theme: “Investments in Agriculture – Driving Food Security”. The forum is intended to highlight the investment opportunities in agriculture while addressing the critical areas such as: land availability for agricultural investments, export opportunities and requirements, access to finance, Agri-entrepreneurship, opportunities in Agro-processing, crop market availability and development, environmental impact on food security, amongst others.

The forum seeks to be an engaging one and will see several speakers providing informative content and discussions into key aspects of the agricultural business sphere.  The Agribusiness Investment Forum will be presented concurrently through two platforms; one is live presentations from guest speakers with an interactive live stream via Zoom that will accommodate 750 – 1000 participants with question-and-answer segments, at the Jamaica Pegasus Hotel from 10:00am – 2:00pm. The second is an Outside Broadcast aired on Nationwide News Network with Cliff Hughes during Cliff Hughes Online from 10:00a.m. to 1:00p.m. This format will allow for engagement of participants and the listening public, including current and potential investors locally and overseas, as well as private and public sector stakeholders.

The Honourable Pearnel Charles Jr. will be in attendance to give his keynote address. The Permanent Secretary Dermon Spence, and other distinguished guests will be in attendance.

JOIN US LIVE as we look forward to having your presence and participation.

Kindly register using the link below:

https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZElc–hpj4vH9N6FToyo3lpqxogU69d6hTM

Agro-Invest Corp wants more applicants for Land Owner Match Programme

A year after launching the Agricultural Land Owner Match Programme, Agro-Invest Corporation (AIC) is still hoping to attract applicants who have a minimum of 50 acres of land to let for agricultural production.

The programme, which forms part of the AIC’s mandate of facilitating agricultural investment and development, aims “to get all unused land into agricultural production”.

“We want landowners to apply, and we will do the legwork in finding a suitable investor and creating the match,” AIC explained, adding that the programme will take the hassle of letting away from landowners.

According to Alecia Brown-Forbes, manager of marketing and communications at AIC, the programme is, however, at a standstill due to a lack of enough lessors of arable land.

“The demand is greater than the supply for the simple reason that many of the people offering land do not have the title or paid-up property taxes. These are the main requirements of applying to the programme,” she told Jamaica Observer.

Since the launch of the programme on May 5, 2020, some 773 acres of land — 333 acres in Elim and 400 acres in Greenhouse — have been leased. At the beginning, the corporation used various marketing activities, such as paid radio features, newspaper ads, and social media blitz, to promote the programme. However, as it expanded the programme, it depended heavily on stakeholders as well as the media to promote it.

The Agricultural Land Owner Match Programme has two phases. Under the first phase landowners interested in in letting their land will apply to AIC, which does its due diligence checks on applicants and visits the sites to determine if the property has met the requirements for agricultural production. In the second phase, the corporation promotes available properties for lease to a suitable match.

At present, Brown-Forbes said their is a “long waiting list” of investors who would like to enter lease arrangements. In order to meet the demand of investors, AIC has adjusted its requirements to accommodate individuals who own at least 30 acres of land to apply. So far, she said, applications have come in from Westmoreland, St Ann, St Mary, and St Thomas.

“We can safely say the number of persons wanting land to lease outweighs those willing to lease land, according to the number of applications for government land we receive on a monthly basis,” she added.

Notwithstanding, Brown-Forbes is encouraging investors to continue applying, noting that AIC will provide “technical services which includes agronomy, soil type, PH levels information, [and] market linkages to exporters/manufacturers/hotels”.

Reference Link: Agro-Invest Corp wants more applicants for Land Owner Match Programme (jamaicaobserver.com)

Agro-Invest defends ownership of packing house in Manchester

Reference Link: PressReader.com – Digital Newspaper & Magazine Subscriptions

Agro-Investment Corp secures four investors for mango orchard project

Agro-Investment Corporation, an agency of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries, is on the hunt for 20 investors to put to work some 1,000 acres of idle sugar cane lands in Toll Gate, Clarendon.

The lands have been earmarked for the cultivation of the St Julian and East Indian mangoes, a fruit that was given the green light for re-entry into the United States market two years ago. High demand is also coming from the United Kingdom and Canada.

So far, four local investors have been identified for the project. Each will lease 50 acres of land from the Agro-Investment Corporation under a 25-year, renewable lease arrangement.

In addition to the cost to lease the property, the investors would be required to spend between $13 million and $15 million to prepare the land for cultivation and put the crops in the ground.

The division, which has responsibility for developing and implementing the business and investment models that support the agriculture ministry’s policy, is working to have a model farm on the property by year end, during which time it hopes to sign off on the lease arrangements with the first four investors.

In May, the ministry announced the allocation of $128 million to develop the land into mango orchards. The funds are being used for road and water infrastructure for the orchard and the construction of a hot-water treatment plant.

“We had about 25 persons applying, four of which we are moving ahead with before the year ends. We hope to sign another four investors by the first quarter of 2022, and that may be a mix of local and foreign investors,” CEO of the Agro-Investment Corporation, Dr Al Powell, told the Financial Gleaner.

It takes, on average, three years for the crops to bear fruit. Preliminary estimates by the Agro-Investment Corporation are that at year four, mango yield per acre would run approximately 5,500 pounds.

The St Julian and East Indian mangoes fetch $150 per pound at farm gate price. Assuming each investor can cultivate the entire 50-acre plot, the investor stands to make $41.250 million in revenue annual.

“Under favourable conditions, investors can expect an average margin of 92 per cent over a 10-year period,” Powell said.

The Agro-Investment made the first call for investors in July and ran a second advertisement for the project on Sunday.

Sweeteners for investors include promise of ease of transport via the May Pen to Williamsfield leg of Highway 2000, assistance with market linkage to the US, Canada and UK through the state investment marketing agency Jampro, business planning and business counselling services, technical support, local and international food safety certification, along with access to the approved hot-water treatment facility for the treatment of mangoes for exportation.

The treatment facility is not expected to be located on property.

“There are about four crops that are in high demand, particularly in the US; avocados, ackee, mangoes and breadfruits. We want to do all four, but we are starting off with mangoes, based on the constant calls for us to supply Julie and the East Indian mangoes,” Powell said.

Since the resumption of mango exports to the US in 2019, some 10,418 boxes totalling 49,298 kilogrammes of East Indian, St Julian and Trini Graham mangoes have been exported.

The treatment facility is expected to allay phytosanitary concerns regarding the fruits, and less worries and logistical costs associated with their export to, and movement of the goods on reaching the US.

Reference Link: Agro-Investment Corp secures four investors for mango orchard project | Business | Jamaica Gleaner (jamaica-gleaner.com)

Youth To Be Certified In International Food Safety

Manager of Marketing and Communications at the Agro-Investment Corporation, Alecia Brown Forbes, says youth stand to benefit from local and international food-safety certification once they are selected for the programme.

Participants in the Agro-Investment Corporation’s (Agro-Invest) Youth in Agriculture Programme are slated to benefit from local and international food-safety certification.

The Programme aims to support the future of farming in Jamaica by providing resources and expertise to select young farmers, with 50 young persons aged 18 to 35 currently participating.

Marketing and Communications Manager at Agro-Invest, Alecia Brown-Forbes, says additional focus has been placed on improving the offerings of the programme.

“We… decided that we are going to include two other features… we are going to offer them local and international food-safety certification as well as [increase] the minimum amount of land that we usually lease to the youth to five acres. If we realise, however, that youth have the potential to invest in more than five acres, then they can get multiples of five-acre plots to lease from us under the programme.” Mrs. Forbes said.

With the added benefit of food-safety certification, youth will be exposed to the fundamentals of handling, preparing and storing what they produce in a way that meets established standards. Meanwhile, persons applying to the programme are being reminded that they must be able to outline their finances in order to apply.

The business proposal form, which is a required document for the application process, asks for these details and is available on the Agro-Invest website at agroinvest.gov.jm.

“When persons connect with us through our website or on social media, for example, or they call us, we want to remind them that the application forms are available for download on the website. What they have to do is fill out an application form as well as we ask them to fill out a business proposal form,” she said.

“The form… outlines their access to market as well as it gives the information on whether they have any knowledge of agriculture at all. It will also give us an idea as to how they will conduct their business in general since farming is a business. This provides us with basic information we can use in the selection process,” Mrs. Forbes explained.

Persons can visit the Agro-invest on Facebook at Agro-investJa or call 876-9230086.