KINGSTON, Jamaica — Jamaica’s national government has unveiled an $800 million initiative to build 95 climate-resilient greenhouses across four of the island’s parishes, with completion targeted for the end of 2026. The plan was announced by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green on Wednesday, May 13, during his 2026/2027 Sectoral Debate address to the country’s House of Representatives.
Minister Green emphasized that protected agricultural infrastructure is a critical component of strengthening resilience for Jamaica’s farming sector, which is disproportionately exposed to the impacts of climate change. He framed the project as the largest single investment in protected agriculture structures in the nation’s history. The greenhouses will be distributed across strategic growing regions: 40 units will be constructed in Mocho, Clarendon; 20 in Water Valley, St Ann; 15 in Black Stone Edge, also in St Ann; 10 in Lancaster, Manchester; and the remaining 10 in Damhead, St Catherine.
Beyond the new construction, the government also plans to redevelop the existing greenhouse cluster in Content, Manchester into a fully functional dedicated protected agricultural zone. The upgraded site will include new on-site storage facilities and an improved access farm road to support local producers.
The project forms part of the broader $50-million US ADAPT Jamaica initiative, funded by the Green Climate Fund (GCF). A key innovation of this program is that all new greenhouses will be engineered to withstand the force of Category Five hurricanes, a design tailored to Jamaica’s frequent exposure to extreme tropical weather events.
“This is one of the defining features of the project,” Green told lawmakers. “We are designing greenhouses that fit our specific climate reality, and we will invest more than $1.5 billion over the next five years to roll out this resilient infrastructure across the island.”
Over the five-year timeline of the GCF ADAPT Jamaica project, the overarching goal is to boost climate resilience for roughly 700,000 smallholder and vulnerable farmers across Jamaica’s central parishes, helping to protect food supplies and support livelihoods amid growing climate uncertainty.