Files

Abstract

The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) through funding from the Common Fund for Commodities (CFC) and the European Union (EU) engaged in projects to strengthen and develop stakeholders in both the protected agriculture and root and tuber industries across six countries in the Caribbean viz. Jamaica, Haiti, Dominica, St. Vincent, Barbados and Trinidad & Tobago. These projects were launched in 2010, with an emphasis on targeting challenges in the respective value chains for each country. Our aim was to strengthen them with the appropriate interventions and necessary linkages among producers, processors, markets and consumers. With focus on the Jamaican value chains explored under the project, needs assessment were conducted to identify specific challenges being faced by the producer and processor groups. The output of these assessments gave rise to the development of appropriate group dynamics programmes, technical training sessions and group transformation interventions for one greenhouse producer group, and six root and tuber producer groups. Processor groups have been exposed to technical sessions on food safety; and strategic linkages developed along the value chain, promoting food security and providing sustainable economies through agribusiness. One of the main highlights which capture the essence of the project objectives is observed in a cassava producer group, Bernard Lodge United Progressive Farmers, being developed into a farmers' cooperative after going through the necessary training and sensitizations; and also being linked into clusters with processors and other stakeholders which promote the use of cassava in diverse culinary creations to encourage consumers to utilize these foods in new ways.

Details

PDF

Statistics

from
to
Export
Download Full History