Prime Minister Holness Reignites Generational Dream with Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion
Prime Minister Dr. Andrew Holness described the Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion Project as a massive step toward fulfilling a decades-old promise to the people of southern St. Elizabeth, a dream long held but never fully realized until now.
The transformative project will bring over 4,000 hectares (9,884 acres) of some of Jamaica’s most fertile lands under irrigation. Once complete, it will benefit up to 6,000 farmers and households, empowering one of the most agriculturally rich regions of the island to finally reach its full potential.
“This is no small undertaking,” said the Prime Minister. “Almost 10,000 acres of land, that’s the scale we’re working with. And yet, if you were to listen to parts of the national conversation, you would think this government just arrived and everything started yesterday. That is not the truth, and history must be respected.”
The Prime Minister traced the origins of the project to the 1970s, when the intention to irrigate the Pedro Plains was first announced. Since then, the project has appeared in national addresses and promises, in 2005, to local political pledges, but remained unfinished for decades.
“We’ve inherited these dreams,” Prime Minister Holness noted, “and unlike others, we’ve taken them off paper and brought them to life.”
In acknowledging the frustration of many residents, the Prime Minister was candid:
“Some Jamaicans still don’t have water in their pipes and because of that it’s easy for us to focus on our personal challenges. But that is the danger, we fail to see the bigger picture when we let short-term distress erase long-term progress. This government is doing the real work of solving the big problems so we can solve your personal problem. We are fulfilling the promises that others only made.”
Prime Minister Holness also addressed narratives that seek to distort the reality of government efforts:
“We know what farmers and households are saying. But we can also tell when the narrative is not based in facts. Those who had 18 and a half years to act chose not to. And now they say if they were in government, they would have done something. Well, they were, and they did not.”
The Pedro Plains Irrigation Expansion is a national turning point. It is proof that meaningful change takes more than rhetoric, it takes work, consistency, and courage.
“We are solving the big, generational problems that others said could never be fixed, that is what we’re doing,” the Prime Minister said.
As the government moves to modernize water infrastructure across Jamaica, the Pedro Plains project stands as a symbol of what is possible when vision meets commitment.
“We are honouring our farmers, our communities, and the long-standing dream of a Jamaica that feeds itself, sustains itself, and prospers.”