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  • Hurricane Melissa spurs rethink of corporate disaster readiness

    Hurricane Melissa spurs rethink of corporate disaster readiness

    Nearly two months after Hurricane Melissa tore through Jamaica, leaving a trail of destroyed infrastructure, upended communities and an estimated $12.2 billion in total economic damage, the Caribbean nation is still navigating the long, uneven process of recovery. Against this backdrop of ongoing reconstruction, leaders from Jamaica’s private sector, national disaster management agencies and leading media outlets came together last week at Kingston’s AC Marriott Hotel for the IMPACT Marketing Conference, where they pulled back the curtain on their post-storm response efforts and unpacked key lessons for building national and organizational resilience.

    The high-profile panel discussion brought together four experienced stakeholders: Dianne Ashton-Smith, head of corporate affairs at leading Jamaican brewer Red Stripe; Chloleen Daley-Muschett, assistant vice president for public relations and corporate affairs at gaming and entertainment group Supreme Ventures; Arthur Hall, editor-at-large for the Jamaica Observer; and Commander Alvin Gayle, director general of Jamaica’s Office of Disaster Preparedness and Emergency Management (ODPEM). Over the course of the conversation, the group explored what makes for effective disaster response, how private sector action can deliver tangible, meaningful support to affected communities, and why cross-sector collaboration is non-negotiable for long-term resilience.

    Ashton-Smith outlined Red Stripe’s people-first response framework, explaining that the company’s immediate priority in the chaotic 72 hours after the storm passed was confirming the safety of all its employees and its key distribution partner, Celebration Brands. With critical communication infrastructure damaged and cellular networks down across large swathes of the country, the full safety check took multiple days to complete. She emphasized that while every organization should have pre-built crisis frameworks, no plan can ever be a step-by-step script for an unprecedented disaster. When systems fail and situations shift by the hour, decision-making has to be rooted in core organizational values and real-time on-the-ground judgment.

    Only once every team member was accounted for and safe did Red Stripe shift its focus to external relief efforts, working in lockstep with ODPEM and local community partners to identify the hardest-hit regions and deliver the support that was actually needed, rather than deploying pre-planned assistance that might not match on-the-ground needs. For Ashton-Smith, corporate crisis responsibility is measured solely by the impact of action, not media visibility or brand recognition. “Responsibility and visibility are not mutually exclusive; people expect us to step up. But the real focus has to be on impact, what reaches people and makes a difference,” she said. She added that the company’s response was guided by its long-held values: a commitment to caring for all people, the courage to act quickly amid uncertainty, and a focus on addressing the real needs of local communities, rather than centering the company’s brand in relief messaging. She also stressed that meaningful crisis response is not a one-time effort: consistent, long-term support for recovery matters far more than a single high-profile donation immediately after the storm.

    Daley-Muschett echoed the focus on internal prioritization and intentional action, sharing that Supreme Ventures’ first step after Hurricane Melissa was also checking in with its own staff and its network of more than 1,300 retail partners across the country. To avoid stretching resources too thin and ensure support reached vulnerable communities quickly, the company focused its relief efforts on distributing high-priority essentials – clean drinking water and non-perishable food – through its already existing retail network, cutting down on logistics delays that often slow disaster aid. She echoed the panel’s focus on authentic action over performative giving, noting that every donation and relief initiative was aligned with the company foundation’s core mission to serve Jamaican communities. “It’s important to be authentic, not performative. When you highlight the good you do, good follows,” she said.

    Commander Gayle, the head of Jamaica’s national disaster preparedness agency, praised the widespread private sector support delivered after Hurricane Melissa but pushed for more intentional, long-term collaboration between the private sector and government disaster management bodies. He emphasized that building national resilience requires moving beyond immediate life-saving relief to strategic long-term recovery planning, a process that is greatly strengthened by private sector participation. He urged all Jamaican companies to coordinate their response efforts through the national Emergency Operations Centre (EOC), where centralized information sharing allows for faster, more coordinated policy-level decisions that can speed up recovery across the country. “Private sector participation can greatly enhance national recovery efforts,” he noted.

    By the end of the discussion, all panelists reached a clear consensus: effective crisis response requires authentic action, long-term commitment to recovery, proactive pre-disaster planning, and sustained cross-sector partnership. As Jamaica continues to rebuild from Hurricane Melissa’s devastation and prepares for the more intense, frequent storms that climate change is projected to bring to the Caribbean, the core message from the IMPACT Conference resonated: crisis management is not a one-off activity, it is an ongoing process of preparation, collaboration and adaptation. Only through coordinated action across the public, private and media sectors can Jamaica build a more resilient future for all its citizens.

  • Toddler among three people murdered in Trinidad

    Toddler among three people murdered in Trinidad

    PORT OF SPAIN, Trinidad – A shocking daylight mass shooting that left three people dead, including a two-year-old toddler, has sparked intense political backlash in Trinidad and Tobago, with former prime minister Stuart Young calling for the immediate resignation of two top cabinet members over the government’s failure to curb rising violent crime.

    The deadly attack unfolded Thursday in Morvant, a suburban community on the outskirts of the capital Port of Spain, cutting short the lives of Anthony Wilson, Akil Kafi, and Kafi’s two-year-old son Akinni. A fourth victim, the toddler’s mother, survived the shooting and remains hospitalized for treatment. The violence comes just one month after an almost identical drive-by shooting in the same neighborhood left three more people dead, including 8-year-old J’layna Armstrong – an attack that already sparked nationwide outrage over unregulated gang and gun violence.

    As of the latest updates, law enforcement officials say they have not found any conclusive evidence linking the two back-to-back mass shooting incidents in Morvant. Deputy Police Commissioner Suzette Martin, speaking to reporters on site shortly after the shooting, condemned the attack as an unforgivable, senseless tragedy that has sown fear across local communities and the entire nation.

    “Four people were shot, three have died including an innocent child, and one is still receiving urgent care. This is a tragic and senseless act of violence,” Martin told reporters. She confirmed that specialized investigative teams have already been deployed to the area to pursue leads, though details remain under wraps at this sensitive stage of the probe. The country is currently under a national state of emergency implemented to curb a surge in gun-related crime, a measure Martin said police are actively leveraging to tackle widespread violent activity.

    Amid ongoing public grief and anger, Martin urged residents to resist taking justice into their own hands, instead calling on anyone with information about the shooting to come forward and cooperate with investigators. “We want to assure the public that we are working diligently to solve this case. We will release more information as the investigation progresses,” she added.

    Young, who serves as the parliamentary representative for the Morvant area and is a leader of the opposition, issued a scathing rebuke of the ruling Kamla Persad Bissessar administration in a public Facebook post following the shooting. He said he was furious, heartbroken, and deeply disturbed by the latest atrocity, noting that the attack was carried out in broad daylight in a residential neighborhood.

    “It is clear that the Kamla Persad Bissessar government has no actual crime plan beyond relying on states of emergency, which we have long said cannot be a long-term solution to our national crime crisis,” Young wrote. He is demanding the immediate resignations of Defence Minister Wayne Sturge and Homeland Security Minister Roger Alexander, arguing that the persistent wave of deadly violence proves the government’s security leadership has failed. Young also condemned an un-named junior government minister for what he described as a recent racist rant targeting his Morvant constituents, calling the comment an added insult to injury for a community already reeling from repeated loss of life.

    Closing his statement, Young offered sincere condolences to the families and friends of Akinni and the other two victims, urging residents to dismiss what he called the government’s “crass and heartless” comments. “I pray that God intervenes and blesses our nation of Trinidad and Tobago,” he wrote.

  • Devon Biscuits cuts prices despite sugar tax rollout

    Devon Biscuits cuts prices despite sugar tax rollout

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — In an unexpected move that sets it apart from many other food producers across the country, iconic Jamaican biscuit manufacturer Devon Biscuits has rolled out permanent price cuts to its full product line, even as the nation’s recently implemented sugar tax threatens to push up production costs across the food and beverage industry. The company framed the decision as a targeted effort to relieve financial strain on households already grappling with skyrocketing living costs across Jamaica.

    The new lower pricing went into effect on May 4, the company confirmed in an official media statement released earlier this week. Brand Manager Sherene Bryan explained that the choice to reduce prices grows directly out of the company’s longstanding promise to stand with Jamaican consumers, especially through the uncertain economic conditions the nation currently faces.

    What’s more, Devon Biscuits emphasized that this price adjustment is not a short-term promotional gimmick, but a core component of the company’s wider long-term strategy. The strategy is designed to keep the brand’s popular baked goods accessible to working and middle-class Jamaican families, while cementing the company’s reputation as a committed community partner that prioritizes national welfare over short-term profit gains.

    “We recognize the importance of delivering value beyond the products themselves,” the company’s statement noted. “These price adjustments are intended to make our offerings more accessible to Jamaican families while reinforcing our responsibility as a brand to support national well-being.”

    The announcement arrives at a moment when many other food and beverage manufacturers across the country are updating their price lists to account for the new government-imposed sugar tax, which industry analysts broadly expect to drive cost increases across large segments of the sector. Unlike many of its competitors, however, Devon Biscuits has chosen to absorb the additional tax costs rather than pass them on to everyday consumers.

    Devon Biscuits is a leading manufacturer and distributor of baked goods across Jamaica, with a popular product range that includes fan favorites such as Chocolate Digestive, Bourbon Creams, Coconut Shortcake, and its signature original Digestives.

  • Legislation to be amended to make adoption easier

    Legislation to be amended to make adoption easier

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — At a post-Cabinet press conference held Wednesday at Jamaica House in St. Andrew, Jamaica’s Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information Senator Dana Morris Dixon outlined comprehensive planned reforms to streamline the nation’s adoption system, addressing longstanding delays that have left hundreds of children waiting for permanent placements in loving family homes. Currently, the country’s aging Adoption Act creates procedural bottlenecks that prevent the system from processing placement requests at the pace demanded by the needs of children in state care, the minister explained. To resolve these issues, the government will pursue two key tracks of change: targeted amendments to national adoption legislation, and internal administrative restructuring within the Child Protection and Family Services Agency (CPFSA), the government body that oversees child welfare and placement services. Morris Dixon emphasized that while the reforms prioritize faster processing, they will also uphold rigorous protections to balance the legal rights of biological parents against the fundamental right of children to access safe, stable family environments. A core gap in Jamaica’s current child welfare framework that the reforms will address is the absence of a formal regulatory structure for foster care, a critical intermediate step in the placement process that currently operates without standardized national guidelines. To ensure the new legislation reflects broad public input and addresses stakeholder concerns, the government will convene a cross-party Joint Select Committee of Parliament to gather feedback from Jamaican communities and stakeholders across the child welfare sector. Officials are also exploring the option of consolidating all adoption and foster care regulations under the existing Child Care and Protection Act, creating a unified, streamlined legal umbrella that covers all forms of out-of-home care for children. “We know that the best possible outcome for any child in state care is placement in a permanent, loving family home,” Morris Dixon said, “It is our collective responsibility to remove unnecessary barriers and make this process as efficient as possible while upholding the highest standards of child protection.” The consolidated legislative framework, once drafted, will go through open public consultation via the Joint Select Committee, giving Jamaicans with an interest in child welfare an opportunity to weigh in on proposed changes before they are finalized for parliamentary approval.

  • Broken bodies

    Broken bodies

    Veteran Jamaican attorney Howard Mitchell, who leads a government-appointed review committee probing governance irregularities at the University Hospital of the West Indies (UHWI), has sounded the alarm over a deeply entrenched culture of insufficient accountability and lax oversight that permeates nearly the entire public sector. Far from being an isolated issue at the prominent teaching hospital, Mitchell argues that the gaps uncovered during the UHWI investigation are symptomatic of broad, structural flaws that have undermined the performance and integrity of state institutions across the island.

    Mitchell outlined three core drivers that allow governance failures to persist across the country’s 156 public bodies: widespread non-compliance with existing regulatory requirements, toothless monitoring mechanisms, and inadequate enforcement of established rules. To illustrate the scope of the compliance crisis, he noted that only 12 of the 156 public bodies are fully up to date on the mandatory financial and operational reports required under the Public Bodies Management and Accountability Act (PBMA). Shockingly, at least one public body has failed to submit a single required report in the 50 years since it was founded, leaving public funds unaccounted for and raising urgent questions about fiscal transparency. This lack of transparency is particularly striking, Mitchell emphasized, given Jamaica’s widely celebrated recent successes in macroeconomic management.

    The review committee was convened specifically to examine procurement and governance shortcomings at UHWI, following a 2025 report from Jamaica’s Auditor General that flagged major irregularities at the facility. But Mitchell said the investigation quickly revealed that the same weaknesses extend across the entire public administration system. A primary contributing factor, he explained, is that the agencies tasked with overseeing public bodies are themselves starved of the resources, staffing, and training needed to do their jobs effectively. The Auditor General’s Department, for example, faces such significant budget constraints that it can only conduct superficial, one-off checks rather than sustained follow-up oversight. Compliance units within the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service also lack sufficient funding and capacity to drive the cultural shift needed to embed accountability across all public institutions.

    Compounding the challenge is the unwieldy structure of Jamaica’s public sector, which places an unmanageable number of agencies under the supervision of individual ministries. Mitchell noted that some cabinet departments are responsible for monitoring more than two dozen public bodies, while 39 separate agencies report directly to the prime minister – a workload that makes consistent, effective oversight functionally impossible.

    Over time, these persistent systemic failures have created a dangerous trust deficit that erodes public confidence in national institutions, Mitchell warned. When public bodies fail to deliver on their mandated services, the backlash falls directly on political leaders and state institutions, damaging social cohesion and undermining the legitimacy of governance. He added that political stakeholders have begun to recognize that this gap between public promises and actual service delivery is a core root of declining citizen trust.

    Against this backdrop, the UHWI reform process has emerged as a critical test case for broader public sector overhaul. The review committee has concluded that Jamaica lacks the specialized local expertise to manage the complex transformation of a large teaching hospital, and is therefore recommending that the government hire an independent international change management expert to lead UHWI’s restructuring, develop a formal implementation roadmap, and enforce accountability for outcomes. Health Minister Dr. Christopher Tufton has endorsed the recommendation, confirming that the government will source the required expertise from the international market, as no local firm possesses the specialized experience in teaching hospital governance and service delivery needed for the project.

    Mitchell stressed that the UHWI reform should not be a standalone fix. Instead, he framed the process as a critical wake-up call for Jamaica to address the accountability crisis across all public bodies, using the hospital’s transformation as a benchmark to raise standards across the entire public sector.

  • Anthony Malvo tackles shady individuals on new track, ‘Corruption’

    Anthony Malvo tackles shady individuals on new track, ‘Corruption’

    For decades, reggae vocalist Anthony Malvo has built his career winning over fans with the smooth, romantic sounds of lovers’ rock, delivering beloved tracks including his collaborations *Come Back to Me* with Tiger and *Can’t You Stop The Rain*. But on his newly released track *Corruption*, the veteran artist abandons soft romantic themes for unflinching, no-nonsense social commentary.

    Dropped in May, the hard-hitting single comes via New York-based production outfit Reggae Vibes Productions. On the track, Malvo pulls no punches calling out underhanded behavior across multiple sectors, targeting crooked politicians, powerful corporate leaders and bad-faith music industry insiders alike.

    In an interview with Observer Online, Malvo broke down the core message of the track, explaining, “Di song is about people on a whole, di people who pretend…gatekeepers. Yuh si these corrupt people in front of yuh everyday.”

    The idea for *Corruption* grew out of a casual conversation about current events between Malvo and a close friend. During their discussion, the friend brought up the pervasive culture of dishonesty that plagues modern society, and the pair quickly agreed that this rot extends far beyond the political and banking spheres that are most often associated with corrupt practice.

    “They’re in political institutions, government institutions, music producers. They’re everywhere,” Malvo emphasized.

    While romantic lovers’ rock makes up the bulk of Malvo’s discography, this is not the first time the artist has used his platform to call out harmful behavior. Previous socially conscious singles include *False Preacher* and *Bad Minded People*, and he most recently teamed up with fellow artist Hopeton Lindo on *Mental Health Awareness*, a track that raises awareness of communities living with psychological disorders.

    Hailing from the Kintyre neighborhood of St Andrew, Jamaica, Malvo first cut his teeth in the music industry performing with local sound systems in the mid-1980s, before launching his professional recording career by the end of the decade. He earned his big breakthrough in 1987 with *Come With Me*, a iconic dancehall reimagining of The Deele’s R&B classic *Two Occasions* that cemented his place in reggae history.

  • Brunch at Brew’d to offer premium Mother’s Day experience on Saturday

    Brunch at Brew’d to offer premium Mother’s Day experience on Saturday

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — For half a decade, Brunch at Brew’d has secured its place as one of Jamaica’s most anticipated seasonal social events, held three times annually to mark Valentine’s Day, Mother’s Day, and Heroes Weekend. Now, event promoter Jermaine Harvey is promising attendees a one-of-a-kind premium gathering for this year’s Mother’s Day edition, kicking off Saturday at the iconic Police Officer’s Club in St Andrew.

    In an exclusive interview with Jamaica Observer, Harvey shared that the long-running event has built a loyal following by prioritizing accessibility, variety, and thoughtful planning for guests of all adult age groups. Unlike many pop-up brunch events that struggle with food supply, Brunch at Brew’d has built its reputation on consistent, abundant offerings that cater to every dietary preference.

    “Come for the food, and stay for the fun” is the event’s unofficial mantra, Harvey explained, noting that this year’s Mother’s Day iteration will feature exclusive deals, special prizes, and surprise giveaways exclusively for mothers attending. Visitors can expect a diverse spread ranging from vegan dishes to decadent desserts, designed to accommodate every taste and dietary need. Updates on giveaways and last-minute changes are posted daily across the brand’s TikTok and Instagram channels, with special event-day deals running through 4:00 PM.

    While the event does not enforce a strict dress code, Harvey encourages guests to opt for semi-formal, comfortable attire that balances style and relaxation. Unlike late-night raucous parties, Brunch at Brew’d is crafted as a inclusive gathering for all adults, from young adults to older guests, with no entry permitted for children due to the availability of alcoholic beverages. The event timeline is also adjusted to fit Jamaican social norms and work schedules: brunch service kicks off at 4:00 PM, and the event wraps up by midnight, allowing attendees to rest ahead of the work week on Sunday.

    Entertainment is curated to appeal to every generation, with a genre-spanning playlist that includes gospel, soca, R&B, and hits from each era of popular music. Unlike many events that blast music at conversation-stopping volumes, Harvey emphasized that the sound is adjusted to let guests catch up with loved ones and unwind while still enjoying the vibe. This intentional, guest-focused approach has helped the event grow almost entirely through word of mouth: nearly all attendees are repeat guests who frequently bring new friends or family members to experience the gathering.

    Mother’s Day, in particular, is one of the event’s most popular editions, as guests often seek out a special space to honor biological and chosen mother figures in their lives. This year’s soundtrack will be handled by three well-known local acts: Team Shella, DJ Mad Dog, and Pittyless, who will deliver the diverse, crowd-pleasing set the event is known for.

  • Lupus Foundation calls on public to ‘Go Purple’ for World Lupus Day 2026

    Lupus Foundation calls on public to ‘Go Purple’ for World Lupus Day 2026

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — Ahead of the 2026 observance of World Lupus Day on May 10, the Lupus Foundation of Jamaica has issued a public appeal to the nation’s corporate sector, small business owners and everyday citizens to stand in solidarity with Jamaicans living with lupus through a nationwide outreach initiative dubbed ‘Go Purple’.

    Aligning with the global 2026 World Lupus Day theme ‘Make Lupus Visible’ and adopting the local rallying cry ‘One Voice. One Community. One Fight.’, the foundation is pushing for widespread participation in small but meaningful actions that shine a spotlight on lupus, a frequently misunderstood autoimmune condition that often hides its symptoms from plain sight and impacts thousands of people across the island.

    The organization has outlined clear, accessible steps for Jamaican businesses of all sizes to get involved. These include swapping out standard social media profile logos for purple versions to signal solidarity, bathing commercial buildings, office spaces and retail storefronts in purple lighting, and circulating educational lupus awareness content across all their owned digital channels.

    Ordinary members of the public are also invited to add their support to the movement. Simple personal actions include adding purple design elements to personal social media profile pictures, wearing purple clothing or accessories on May 10, and sharing messages of encouragement and awareness to their own social networks to expand the campaign’s reach.

    “Lupus is often called an invisible illness, but together we can make it visible,” shared a senior representative from the Lupus Foundation of Jamaica in a statement announcing the campaign. “By turning our digital spaces and physical environments purple, we are sending a strong, unified message of support, awareness and hope to every person and family affected by this condition across Jamaica.”

    The foundation emphasized that the core goals of the ‘Go Purple’ initiative extend far beyond symbolic action. The campaign is designed to jumpstart a national conversation about lupus, break down common misconceptions about the disease, and build a visible, supportive community for all those navigating its impacts. Through collective public participation, the organization also aims to draw attention to the critical roles that early diagnosis, consistent accessible care, and community backing play in improving outcomes for people living with lupus.

    As Jamaica prepares to join the global lupus awareness movement in 2026, the foundation closed its appeal with a reminder that meaningful change starts small: widespread awareness begins with intentional visibility, and that visibility depends on the participation of every single person across the country.

  • Nominations now open for WATA Hydrate to Educate initiative

    Nominations now open for WATA Hydrate to Educate initiative

    KINGSTON, Jamaica — A major new investment in Jamaican secondary education is now open for applications, as bottled water brand WATA launches its 2026 Hydrate to Educate initiative with a total commitment of more than JA$12 million to support students and school infrastructure across the island.

    Now in another annual cycle, the community-focused program splits its funding across two core impact areas: direct individual support for students and institutional development grants for schools. Thirty qualifying secondary students will each receive JA$200,000 in unrestricted educational assistance, which can be put toward tuition costs, required course materials, daily transportation fares, and other unmet academic needs that often create barriers to consistent schooling for low-income youth.

    On the institutional side, 14 Jamaican secondary schools will receive targeted grants to advance campus improvement projects. Five secondary schools located in western parishes, an area still recovering from the devastation of Hurricane Melissa, will each receive JA$1 million to support recovery and development work. An additional nine schools spread across all other regions of the island will receive JA$200,000 each for their own campus upgrade projects.

    Brittany Thwaites, brand manager for the WATA portfolio at Wisynco Group, the parent company behind the initiative, explained that Hydrate to Educate is built on a core philosophy that sustainable educational progress requires investment at both the individual and institutional level. “This program has always been rooted in the belief that every young Jamaican deserves equal access to the resources they need to pursue their education, no matter their financial background,” Thwaites shared in a statement announcing the 2026 nomination cycle. “Year after year, we see firsthand how transformative this support is for students, their families, and entire school communities. We’re proud to keep expanding the program to reach more vulnerable communities across Jamaica.”

    Thwaites emphasized that the 2026 program has been structured to address the ongoing recovery needs of western Jamaica, where Hurricane Melissa caused widespread damage to public infrastructure, including school facilities. “This year, we made a deliberate choice to prioritize additional support for schools in western parishes that are still working to bounce back from Hurricane Melissa,” she said. “Education is one of the most critical foundations for long-term community recovery and progress. Through this initiative, WATA is working to help rebuild safe, supportive learning spaces where students can continue to learn, grow, and build brighter futures, even after disaster.”

    Nominations for individual student grants are open to eligible secondary students from every parish across Jamaica. Any third party who can speak to a student’s financial need — including parents, guardians, teachers, coaches, and community leaders — may submit a nomination. Submissions must include details about the student’s personal background, current financial circumstances, and a description of how the grant would remove barriers to their ongoing education.

    For institutional grant applicants, funding is reserved for projects that directly improve the overall campus learning environment, including critical infrastructure repairs, expansion of learning resource centers, accessibility upgrades, and other campus-wide needs that align with the program’s mission.

    As previously noted, a dedicated portion of the 2026 funding is earmarked specifically for hurricane-impacted western schools, to accelerate their recovery work and help them rebuild stronger, more resilient campuses for their student bodies.

    Nominations for both student and institutional grants will close at the end of the day on June 30, 2026. Interested parties can submit nominations or access full program details by visiting the official program website at educate.wisynco.com.

  • World Bank, IICA launch AgriConnect initiative in Jamaica

    World Bank, IICA launch AgriConnect initiative in Jamaica

    KINGSTON, JAMAICA – Two leading global development institutions, the World Bank Group (WBG) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), have officially launched the landmark AgriConnect initiative in Jamaica, kicking off a global effort to expand rural digital access, boost digital inclusion, and integrate small-scale family farmers into formal local and global value chains.

    At its core, the transformative program sets an ambitious target: by 2030, it will deliver targeted support to as many as 300 million smallholder producers worldwide, guiding the shift from low-yield subsistence farming models to scalable, commercially viable agricultural enterprises. Jamaica’s role as an early implementation site marks a key milestone in the WBG’s broader global strategy to drive inclusive, sustainable transformation of the international agrifood sector.

    Speaking at the official launch event, Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture Floyd Green framed AgriConnect as a transformative opportunity for the island nation. Green emphasized that the initiative’s core philosophy, which combines institutional partnership with on-the-ground farmer support, aligns perfectly with Jamaica’s ongoing efforts to build a more resilient, technologically advanced, and inclusive agricultural sector that works for all producers.

    The launch drew senior leadership from both partnering institutions, including Lilia Burunciuc, the World Bank’s Country Director for the Caribbean, and Kent Coipel, IICA’s Jamaica-based representative. Both leaders reaffirmed the longstanding collaborative alliance between the inter-American hemispheric body and the World Bank, underlining their shared commitment to strengthening agricultural productivity and resilience across the Caribbean region. Additional senior attendees included Benoît Bosquet, the World Bank’s Director of Sustainable Development for Latin America and the Caribbean, and Diego Arias, Practice Manager for Agriculture and Food for the same region.

    Coipel, speaking on behalf of IICA, highlighted the institute’s decades-long track record of supporting small and medium-sized agricultural producers across the Caribbean, with a longstanding focus on building producer capacity, delivering export readiness training, and forging sustainable connections between farmers and formal markets. “Strengthening the organizational capacity of rural communities is a fundamental pillar of IICA’s technical cooperation work,” Coipel stated at the event.

    The launch was followed by a series of working sessions that brought together key stakeholders across the agricultural ecosystem. Derrick Deslandes, President of Jamaica’s College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE), and Jacqueline Sharp, director of a family-owned coffee enterprise focused on local marketing and international export, led discussions on actionable pathways to expand smallholder market access and streamline integration across national food value chains.

    A separate breakout exchange centered on strategies to expand small producers’ access to cutting-edge agricultural technologies, and explored new frontiers of scientific and digital innovation for Jamaica’s agricultural sector, generating actionable takeaways for local implementation. Participants in that session included World Bank agricultural specialist Winston Daes; Aura Cifuentes, Latin America and Caribbean Director at development non-profit Co-Develop; and Arturo Ramírez, Technical Director of Isratech Jamaica Limited, a firm that delivers sustainable agricultural solutions focused on water management and renewable energy alternatives to fossil fuels.

    Across the Americas, IICA is one of many core institutional partners backing the WBG’s AgriConnect vision. The initiative also brings together multilateral financial institutions, private sector actors, philanthropic foundations, and global knowledge partners to align resources around shared goals for smallholder empowerment.

    On a global scale, AgriConnect benefits from an estimated annual financing envelope of US$9 billion, with the additional potential to mobilize up to US$5 billion in supplementary private and public investments. These resources will be used to strengthen innovation systems, expand accessible agricultural financing, and build supportive service ecosystems tailored to the needs of small-scale producers.

    Per project organizers, AgriConnect was developed in response to findings from a World Bank-convened expert panel, which identified the agriculture and agribusiness sector as one of the five global industries with the greatest potential to absorb the large number of young people entering the global workforce in the coming decade.