More than 5,000 fresh fruit and vegetable farmers in Manchester will soon have access to a large, state-of-the-art facility to store and preserve their produce. Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, on Tuesday (July 29), broke ground and signed the contract for the rehabilitation of the Coleyville Cold Storage facility in the parish, which is being undertaken at a cost of $294 million. The works will include refurbishing eight cold storage bins, installation of a modern chill system to keep produce fresh, and putting in place a new solar photovoltaic system, which will satisfy the facility’s energy needs while reducing electricity costs. “Any cold storage of this nature also needs a lot of water to operate and as part of this project, we are putting in a rainwater harvesting system to keep the produce fresh. We will also refurbish [the] office spaces, rest rooms and changing rooms to have the proper sanitary facilities,” Mr. Green said, adding that the facility will also be equipped with appropriate lighting and fire protection and safety features. The Minister said that the building out of Coleyville is not just to meet local needs but also facilitate export expansion. “We are in an area known for export. Our number-one export is yam and this is a big yam producing belt. We are building out Coleyville to internationally acceptable standards so that there will be no problems moving into the international market,” he said. Minister Green thanked the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) for funding the project under its the Second Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI II). The Government of Jamaica and World Bank programme aims to enhance market access and climate resilient approaches for targeted beneficiaries in the agriculture and tourism sectors. Managing Director of JSIF, Omar Sweeney, in his address, said the organisation has been working in close collaboration with Agro-Investment Corporation (Agro-Invest) to modernise cold chain infrastructure islandwide. “The rehabilitation is urgent because Jamaica loses some 35 per cent of its annual harvest to heat and spoilage,” he said, noting that the provision of reliable cooling systems will extend the shelf life of produce, cut post-harvest losses, stabilise supply, steady prices and reduce Jamaica’s food import bill. Mr. Sweeney informed that the Coleyville Cold Storage facility will connect 20 aggregators to hotels, processors and supermarkets. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Agro-Invest, Vivion Scully, in a message read by Director of Business Development, Dr. Lillymae Walder, said that the Coleyville complex is being transformed into a modern, energy-efficient, fully rehabilitated cold storage hub to serve not only farmers but also the distributors, exporters and processors. She emphasised the importance of adequate cold storage in increasing exports, reducing the food import bill and enhancing food security. Minister without Portfolio in the Office of the Prime Minister with responsibility for Efficiency, Innovation, and Digital Transformation, Senator the Hon. Ambassador Audrey Marks, said she would be looking to see how JSIF, which falls under her portfolio, can support further infrastructure upgrades for the agriculture sector. “We are also working on more streamlined linkages with the tourism industry to ensure that farmers get the assistance they need to have all their produce sold. They will produce more once they are assured that it will be sold,” she said.