Agro-Park Rollout Picks Up Pace as Ministry Recovers Idle Plots

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining is extending its agro-park programme, with new and prospective sites now moving through planning and early works in a string of parishes.

“In St. Mary, New Pen has been identified, and we have already dug the well… and we’re designing a pressurised irrigation system. In Portland, Low Leyton has been identified, and we are going to be doing river training… irrigation, storage, and a road network,” portfolio Minister the Hon. Floyd Green said.

Addressing the 2026/2027 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on Wednesday, 13 May, Mr Green said parcels are lined up at Lydford and Hinds Town in St. Ann, with the intention to start construction at Lydford within the current calendar year.

He also reported that initial feasibility reviews have begun for additional locations: Frome in Westmoreland; Orange Bay and Spring Valley in Hanover; Montpelier in St. James; and Ettington and Long Pond in Trelawny.

Agro-Invest Corporation oversees the agro-parks, which are purpose-built farming belts intended to lift local output, trim import bills, and strengthen national food security. The model bundles shared works—among them irrigation lines, farm roads, and storage—for growers and private backers.

Cabinet’s stated aim is to have an agro-park operating in each parish.

In parallel, Mr Green said officials are repossessing tracts inside the parks from occupiers who keep land out of cultivation.

“It doesn’t make sense that you’re in our agro-parks, you have the land, and you’re not using it. We are taking back the lands from people who are not using them in the agro-parks,” he said.

The Ministry took back 120 acres in 2025, he noted, and a further 280 acres are on notice for recovery if operators still refuse to put them under active farming.

“This will increase utilisation closer to 80 per cent of our agro parks,” he said.