Dr Karen Hilliard,Mission Director,USAID Jamaica (left) and Marjory Kennedy, President,Jamaica Exporters' Association, sign a new cooperation agreement Tuesday extending the cluster competitiveness project. Ruth Chisholm, Development Programme Specialist, is in the background. - Ricardo Makyn/Staff Photographer

USAID has committed another US$300,000 of funding to the Jamaica Exporters' Association (JEA) under an agreement that extends the cluster competitiveness project.

The parties signed the memorandum of understanding yesterday in Kingston to continue the development of industry clusters, to improve supply chains and foster knowledge of the workings of specific commercial sectors.

USAID Jamaica Mission Director Karen Hilliard and JEA president Marjory Kennedy were signatories to the cooperation agreement.

The project is managed by The Competitiveness Company, a JEA subsidiary created for the purpose.

The programme has so far been concentrated on agribusiness, entertainment and tourism industries, said manager Beverly Morgan.

An industry cluster is a grouping of the different elements of a value chain that are needed to create a finished product on the market.

For example, for spices and sauces, the cluster would include bottlers/packagers of the product, the companies that develop and design the labels, and the spicemakers.

Under the new MOU, tourism will not be included in the clusters, but will continue to receive assistance under the Private Sector Develop-ment Programme.

The clusters under the pact signed Tuesday now include: ornamental fish (agribusiness), a newly established cluster that was not included in the first programme but was suggested by USAID to target young men in underserved communities; sauces and spices sector (agri-business); and entertainment and culture, with music as a subcluster coordinated by Jamaica Signature Beats.

richard.deane@gleanerjm.com