A Bauxite Land Lease Programme will be introduced this year to provide farmers in bauxite areas with land to boost their agricultural production.

Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Floyd Green, provided details during his contribution to the 2024/25 Sectoral Debate in the House of Representatives on May 21.

“A lot of bauxite land stands idle. We are starting a bauxite land lease programme this year to give land to farmers on concessionary terms so that they can maximise their outputs,” he said.

The programme will create an efficient and affordable channel for farmers in these areas to access lands for agricultural purposes at below-market-rate lease values.

Meanwhile, Green informed that an initiative aimed at bringing piped and potable water to mining communities will be launched this year.

He said the initiative will be undertaken in collaboration with several private and public organisations and donor agencies.

“This year, we will be embarking on Operation Piped Water, providing potable and irrigation water for productivity and empowerment in bauxite mining communities,” the Minister said.

“A number of our bauxite communities, unfortunately, still don’t have access to water and a number of our bauxite companies dug wells. We are going to fix that… and we are going to rehabilitate and resuscitate those wells. We are going to run irrigation systems in those communities, we are seeking to impact the lives of 125,000 residents, 800 businesses, 3,000 hectares of land over the next 10 years,” he noted.

Some of the partners include Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI), Jamaica Bauxite Mining Company, National Irrigation Commission (NIC) and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).

Green further noted that $100 million will be spent to erect greenhouse/water harvesting sites as well.

Additionally, he said a revitalised Manchester Citrus Project will be introduced. “We are going to be spending over $7 million partnering with the Jamaica Citrus Growers Association to start a project to replant citrus in Manchester,” the Minister said.

– JIS News