The Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) - an agricultural education and training organisation - is attempting to improve information and training access to the island's farmers as part of a broader aim of reducing poverty and facilitate agricultural development.

A workshop on devising adaptation strategies to implement the COL's Lifelong Learning for Farmers (L3 Farmers) programme in Jamaica was held at the Canadian High Commission in St. Andrew last Thursday.

According to the organisation, which is based in Vancouver, Canada, the aim of the L3 Farmers programme is to "empower and liberate agricultural communities from socio-economic constraints by facilitating (them) to create socially and financially sustainable self-directed lifelong learning systems." In the process, COL said farmers would be enabled "to gain new knowledge and skills for increasing their farm production and productivity and for accessing local and global markets amore equitably."

Important to sector

Agriculture and Lands Minister, Roger Clarke, who was present for the official opening of the workshop, highlighted the need for such a programme in Jamaica as he said the necessity of disseminating information was very important and since "in the agricultural sector and especially in the area of small farm agriculture there is a deficiency in knowledge." The Agriculture and Lands Minister explained that because of financial constraints, the Government has had to reduce the level of support given to farmers over the years.

"And because of that there is this deficiency, there is a gap as it were between our researchers and our farmers; between our marketers and our farmers; (and) between our financiers and our farmers," he said.

Great opportunity

Furthermore, he stressed that the world of trade was changing to the point where a piece of yam, when exported to countries like Canada and the United Kingdom, must be able to be traced back to the farm where it was grown in Jamaica.

"I see this as a great opportunity, not only for the farmers themselves who will be the beneficiaries, but our extension officers will begin to get a new feeling of how they can move that knowledge from where it emanates in the lab, to where it ends up in the field," Clarke said.

Dr. Willie Clarke-Okah of COL explained that the adaptation strategies proposed at the workshop would be used as a guide for implementation of the programme in Jamaica within a set time frame and later replicated in other Caribbean countries.

The L3 Farmers programme has already been implemented in India where it has so far achieved measurable results.