Jun 2010 Financial News

Government to set up resort markets for farmers

Jun 16, 2010

Farmers, now unable to produce in large volumes because of unstable markets, should soon have access to new selling points designed solely for them and targeted at small hoteliers and others in the tourism trade who need fresh produce on a daily basis, the agriculture ministry has said.

Dr Derrick Deslandes, the director of the Centre of Excellence for Advanced Technology in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries (MoAF), said the marketing initiative will be operated alongside an information system that provides demand signals to the producers, giving farmers an assured market.

This is expected to reduce farmers' vulnerability to gluts and the resulting losses, while protecting resort buyers from price spikes that stem from shortages.

The project is allied to a wholesale distribution system for fruits and vegetables, under which the ministry said it is upgrading farmers markets in White River and Guy's Hill in St Mary, New Market in St Elizabeth, and a yet to be decided location in St James.

Each site will cost between $5 million and $6 million, Dr Deslandes said.

The farmers markets will serve small hotels as well as chefs in search of fresh produce.

The local trade in fruits and vegetables has been valued at some J$16 billion annually with the MoAF planning several initiatives to be able to tap into 50 per cent of this by 2013.

Two new packaging houses supplied both by greenhouse and open field farmers, with conglomerate GraceKennedy Limited also selected to operate one, should be operational by yearend. That supply system, plus the network of farmers markets are said to be important planks of the ministry's supply plan.

"Only farmers will be permitted use (because) we don't think that they have enough access to the market," the ministry official said.

"Hotels are moving away from dealing with individuals, but, smaller properties do not have access to the farmers and there are also chefs who like to buy fresh and so go to the market themselves."

Farmers, Dr Deslandes said, were also being organised into producer-marketing organisations (PMOs) in which 25,000 open-field and greenhouse farmers are now registered.

The PMOs will help farmers price their produce more consistently, and buy inputs in bulk. Training is also being provided to PMO members.

Farmers have been asked to price at 30-50 per cent markup on costs, said Deslandes.

The assurance of consistent market and information will also protect the farmer from over planting and gluts, which lead to losses, he said. At the same time, hotels and other buyers in resort locations will be protected from price spikes which occur when farmers stop producing after they experience oversupply losses.

An information clearing house, the Agriculture Business Infor-mation System (ADIS), is also being enhanced to send farmers text messages about markets, price and other industry needs.

The agriculture ministry said it will also be attempting to bring some open farmers and local hotels together through direct contractual arrangements for the supply of fruits and vegetables.


Source:
Avia Collinder, Business Writer
avia.collinder@gleanerjm.com
Jamaica Gleaner
Wednesday June 16, 2010

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