Agro-InvestSpring Plain Mango Agro Park

SPRING PLAIN MANGO AGRO PARK

The Spring Plain Mango Project area forms part of the Mid-Clarendon Irrigation District (MCID) and has traditionally been utilized for sugarcane production. However, with the downturn of the sugar industry, this project site is underutilized. The Mango Agro Park was conceptualized to place the underutilized land into commercialized production of St. Julian and East Indian Mangoes. The Spring Plain Mango Agro Park seeks to integrate all facets of the agricultural value chain from pre-production to production, post-harvesting, hot water treatment and marketing. The development of the Agro Park will be done through public-private partnerships.

The Agro Park spans a gross area of approximately 1000 acres of land. Twenty percent (20%) was dedicated to infrastructural development works, while the remaining acreage was allocated for the large-scale production of Mango.

Jamaican mangoes present a tremendous export potential. Jamaica made its inaugural shipment to the United States in 2019, after a long battle of over 20 years for market access.  In 2020, despite the pandemic, Jamaica was able to increase the volume of mangoes shipped from 10,000 to 100,000 pounds; however, given the ever-increasing unfulfilled demand, the scope for expansion is tremendous.

It is expected that the demand for East Indian and St. Julian mangoes in the United States will grow by an average of 5.4 % annually as the Government is seeking to re-enter the UK and EU markets after a self-imposed ban since 2014 on its exports.  This was as a result of the level of interception in the UK, which was very high, and the country was at risk of being issued a ban based on the levels of fruit flies infestation being detected in our mango shipment. Agro Invest intends to assist in meeting the expected export demand by establishing the Mango Agro Park.

Fourteen (14) investors have been assigned a minimum of 50 acres each. The project is expected to contribute approximately $288 million in direct capital investment to the agricultural sector. To improve investors’ annual cash flow, investors have been encouraged to employ intercropping measures. Recommended crops for intercropping are:

  • Pumpkin
  • Hot Pepper
  • Sweet potato
  • Onion
  • And other vegetables

On December 14, 2021, Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Mr. Orville Palmer, presented the first (five) 5 investors with lease contracts at a Breakfast Meeting held in St. Andrew, organized by the Corporation. Agro-Invest will be working alongside the investors providing technical and marketing support to ensure successful implementation of the project,

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Investor’s Breakfast Meeting held on December 14, 2021

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Five Investors presented with lease contracts for the Spring Plain Mango Agro Park, Clarendon

From left, Agro-Invest’s CEO, Dr. Al. Powell; Lincoln Nicholson of Fairfield Farms; Merrick Plummer, Courtney Murray; Junior Taylor; Donovan Rae; and Orville Palmer, Chief Technical Director, Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

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