Jamaica is seeking investments of about $300 million from the private sector to begin rice production.

So far the only mentioned private sector entity to announce its interest in the plan is Jamaica Broilers, whose interest is in finding alternatives to expensive imported grain used as raw material for feed production. 

"It is going to be a private sector investment because we are not into the business of planting rice, but we will provide a certain amount of facilitation to the private providers subject to Cabinet approval," permanent secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Donovan Stanberry, said on Wednesday.

The government will be providing land, most likely in areas where rice was previously grown such as Meylersfield and Georges Plain in Westmoreland,  St John's Road near Dovecot, the Hellshire hills in St Catherine, and the BRUMDEC property in St Elizabeth.

The Jamaica Broilers Group has already committed $5 million as initial investment, but is willing to provide additional capital if the venture is viable.

"A lot depends on who the partners are, the outcome of the study and what kind of money you are talking about," senior vice-president of operations, Christopher Levy said on Wednesday. He said the target at this time is to start producing between 5,000-6,000 acres of paddy.

With the recent increases in rice on the world market, growing rice for local consumption and for substitution in animal feed production has become an attractive proposition.  The increases in prices is compounded by the fact that many rice-producing countries have ceased or limited exports.

Tufton said Guyana, the largest grower of rice in the region, has offered technical assistance and is expected to provide a report in two weeks on the feasibility of growing the crop here. Stanberry said the Guyanese have been offering lands to grow rice to CARICOM countries and a few private sector interests here have expressed interest in the offer.

"The important thing is that there is a recognition that the time is opportune to substitute some amount of our imports with local production to satisfy our consumption needs and the private sector is willing to make the investment," said Stanberry.