Mark Haskins (left), CEO of the Caribbean Broilers Group, signs the memorandum of understanding as Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary in the agriculture ministry, checks carefully before signing the document under which Caribbean Broilers will lease more than 800 acres of land in Amity Hall, St Catherine for planting sorghum (grain). - Christopher Serju

The Caribbean Broilers Group has leased more than 800 acres of Government-owned land at Amity Hall, St Catherine, in keeping with the drive to expand its sorghum-cultivation project, to replace some of the imported yellow corn used in its animal-feed plant.

The memorandum of understanding and lease agreement for the land was signed with Agro-Invest Corporation, the investment arm of the agriculture ministry, at its Hope Gardens office on Thursday.

The Ministry of Agriculture has given a commitment to help with land and drainage clearance at the site where Caribbean Broilers said it has started planting the grain, following the success of its 300-acre pilot project at Hill Run, St Catherine. It has since entered into a private arrangement with owners of adjoining land to increase its sorghum cultivation at that site to 1,000 acres.

The company is actively working to increase its sorghum cultivation to between 4,000 and 7,000 acres, in order to cut its importation of yellow corn, a high-cost imported ingredient in its line of Nutramix animal feeds, to at least 15 per cent.

With output comparable to the 120-150 achieved in the United States, the group is confident that, by getting in two crops per year, it can make a dent in its import bill for yellow corn. It is also looking at intercropping as another means of increasing the yield per acre from its investment.