Acres of pepper being worked on by farmers from the Ebony Park Group in Clarendon. - contributed

Two years ago, 34-year-old Gary Howell responded to an advertisement in The Gleaner inviting persons with experience in farming who were willing to work in a group to contact the Ministry of Agriculture in order to benefit from an assistance programme.

Today, Gary is part of the 30-member Ebony Park Farmers' Group in Clarendon, which is successfully supplying its varied markets comprising exporters, supermarket chains and agro-processors.

great assistance

"The ministry assisted us through its Agricultural Support Services Project (ASSP) by providing five-acre plots for leasing, as well as ongoing training in agricultural research, modern production practices, plant protection, marketing and group dynamics," explained Howell.

"We had to come up with the money to finance our individual production but the ASSP also assisted us with the land preparation, farm equipment, an off-farm irrigation system and each group member had to bear the cost of connecting a main line, drip hoses and sprinklers," he further explained.

Group leader Fitz Shaw explains that to benefit from ASSP assistance, the group had to be legally registered. They chose to register under the Provident Societies Act, as this allowed them the flexibility to meet their long-term objectives of exporting and trading in agricultural commodities.

In the face of scepticism on the part of many Jamaican farmers about working in groups, Fitz Shaw highlights one of the main advantages.

"In the first place, it ensures consistency of supply because we have scheduled production cycles using a six-month crop plan, where each group member is assigned a crop mix and a specified acreage to be planted," said Shaw.

He recalls that when Hurricane Dean struck in August of last year, the crops in the ground were wiped out. "But because we had plants of each variety in the nursery for the next cycle, and we had managed to secure these, we were able to meet our production targets with very little lag time," said Shaw.

Without consistency of supply, he cautions, "a farmer loses his market".

The word among the Ebony Park farmers is that the group model provides a measure of security. No one feels isolated, as the plots are close to each other. As one group member, Oniel Williams, points out, "The group system also gives us the opportunity to learn from the experience of the other farmers and although we work as a unit, each of us is paid for the amount of produce we supply to our buyers."

What has made this group work?

The bottom line, Fitz Shaw concludes is this. "Our hard-earned money is tied up in it. It's our investment, so we must make it work."