THE JAMAICA Agricultural Society (JAS), the Jamaica Manufacturers' Association (JMA) and the Jamaica Business Development Centre (JBDC) are forging an alliance in an effort to create a more efficient local agricultural sector.
Speaking during a visit to the JBDC's Camp Road, Kingston office Friday, recently-elected JAS president, Senator Norman Grant, said the collaboration would fit into his drive to reposition the JAS as an organisation with "a vibrant and relevant focus on discharging value-added deliverables to its membership."
"This overall repositioning will mean that the 220,000 farmers that we have in Jamaica will now see the importance of becoming a member of the JAS," Senator Grant said.
INTRODUCED
Accompanied by JMA president/JBDC chairman, Doreen Frankson, and JAS chief executive officer (CEO), Patrick Anderson, Senator Grant toured the facilities of the JBDC and was introduced to a number of projects being undertaken to utilise the country's natural agricultural resources.
One of those projects, the Banana Paper Project, revealed a primary concern held by Ms. Frankson. She pointed out that though the project which seeks to find an alternative, affordable method of producing paper is not yet in the commercial stage, work needs to be done on determining the market and marketing strategy for the final product.
Speaking to the issue, a concern for local enterprise on a whole, Senator Grant offered the JAS's services in marketing products coming out of the JBDC.
"We will be setting up a central marketing company. The JAS will be involved in a lot of commercial operations. So what we have done is to set up a JAS Commercial Enterprises Ltd. that will now run as a private sector company to manage all of the JAS's commercial projects," he said.
At last month's JAS annual general meeting, Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, first announced that the society would be given $10 million to establish a proper central marketing system for the agricultural sector. This, he said, would ease the plight of several farmers who have long incurred losses, due to their inability to identify markets for their crops.
The Minister has subsequently handed over a cheque for $5 million to the JAS.
The JBDC was created as a centre of expertise in micro, small and medium-scale business development. Though not a funding source for business in Jamaica, through its training, information and consulting services, it also seeks to help entrepreneurs identify financial sources and strategies to obtain financing.
