World Bank cautions against low productivity in Jamaican agriculture

WESTERN BUREAU:

Kilara Suit, a senior agriculture specialist at the World Bank, says that, despite the immense potential of Jamaica’s agriculture sector, it still continues to grapple with low productivity and persistent barriers that hinder growth.

“Ladies and gentlemen, we know Jamaica’s agribusiness sector is rich with potential. Climate and land resources allow for a wide range of high-value crops. There is significant untapped land available for expansion, but we know that productivity remains low,” said Suit while addressing participants last Thursday at the inaugural staging of the Jamaica Agri-business Investment Forum and Expo, which is ongoing at the Montego Bay Convention Centre in St James.

Suit said that unlocking the sector’s potential requires targeted interventions, pointing to key challenges facing small holding farmers, which include “limited access to finance, technology and markets, weak compliance with food safety standards, and high vulnerability to weather and disease”.

The comments by the World Bank specialist come even as the country’s agriculture sector has been seeing some amount of growth. Official data show that domestic crop production reached 779,254 tons in 2023, Jamaica’s second-highest output on record, although slightly below the 846,508 tons produced in 2022.

More recently, the industry registered a 13.7 per cent growth in output between April and June 2025, compared to the previous quarter, with a notable 11.1 per cent increase in output per hectare of domestic crops.

While welcoming the gains that have been made, Suit nonetheless stressed that productivity is more than just total output, as there are other important variables that require attention.

“To unlock this potential, we must address these constraints head-on,” said Suit. “The World Bank Group is committed to support Jamaica’s efforts to improve market access for rural enterprises and small holdings, build resilience across the value chain, strengthen linkages between agriculture and tourism, promote innovation and digitalisation in agribusiness, and expand opportunities for women and youth in the sector.”

IMPROVING THE BUSINESS ENVIRONMENT

According to Suit, the World Bank earlier this year approved a US$192-million Sustainable and Resilient Recovery Development Policy Financing Instrument for Jamaica, which is designed to improve the business environment, streamline trade facilitation, and strengthen disaster risk management.

“Building resilience is really not just about infrastructure, it’s about people,” she said. “We really must ensure that the investments that we make reach the most vulnerable – the rural communities, women and youth. By supporting climate resilient practices, digital solutions and skills development, we really believe that we can create new and better jobs, improve food security, and drive inclusive growth.”

Suit also urged participants at the forum to seize the opportunity to chart a new course for Jamaica’s agriculture sector by investing in climate-smart technologies and resilient infrastructure, fostering innovation and digitalisation across the value chain, expanding access to finance and markets for smallholders and MSMEs, promoting gender equality and youth empowerment, and building strong public-private partnerships for sustainable growth.

“I am confident that collective action will lead Jamaica to transform its agribusiness sector into a driver of prosperity, resilience and opportunity,” she said. “The World Bank Group stands ready to support everyone on that journey with knowledge, financing and partnership.”

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com