THE JAMAICA Agricultural Society (JAS) is $100 million richer in assets after recently discovering that it owned 26 other commercial properties across the island.
Senator Norman Grant, president of the JAS, made the disclosure of the find at the JAS's annual general meeting on Wednesday at the Jamaica Conference Centre, downtown Kingston.
While still insisting that the more than a century old organisation was 'cash-starved', Senator Grant told The Gleaner that the discovery of the additional properties will help the JAS to become a viable entity.
He said that the organisation plans to utilise these properties by renting or leasing them out. The plan, he said, included the expansion and development of its Compton House property in Manchester.
The JAS president is also projecting to earn from the utilisation of the additional properties in the region of $1.5 million per month.
"What I am actually doing is creating commercial value out of the JAS," he said.
Some of the prime commercial properties that are owned by the JAS include 11 Harbour Street in Port Antonio, Portland, which is valued at $2 million and its head office at 67 Church Street, downtown Kingston.
The JAS has also established a development fund for agricultural activities. The fund will help to finance agricultural scholarships and activities that will help in the general improvement of the livelihood and living standards of people in rural communities.
To date, $520,000 has been pledged towards the fund.
