Call for attention in production and marketing of agricultural produce

Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Agriculture, Harold Guiste, has called for producers to pay special attention to the production and marketing of crops, with the same vigour which was injected into the banana industry.

He made the comments at a training workshop on value chain validation, held by consultants from the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Banana Accompanying Measures (BAM) program.

“And then, what I would like to see as we develop value chains—which, I think has already been done under the BAM program with CARDI—is to do for a few other crops, what we did for bananas… from A to Z was taken care of. So, DMBC, at the time, maybe National Fair Trade, of late, they had control over the boxes, they had control over fertilizer, they had control over spraying ranging, they had control over nematicide control, over the shipping, they had control over every single thing. And, therefore, the industry did very well,” he explained. “I’m saying here, that the same is required for some of the other crops that we want to market—that we study spacing, planting regime, husbandry, everything.”

Meantime, Guiste highlighted the need for persons engaged in agriculture to possess knowledge of the value chain.

“As an agriculture-based country, it is extremely important for our farmers, extension officers, business people persons engaged in agriculture in one way or another, to understand where they fit in the scheme of things, as it relates to production and consumer satisfaction,” he said.

He stated that in order to ensure consumer satisfaction, certain synchronized activities must take place, beginning at the farm.

“So, the consumer is demanding certain things, and then, in order to be able to satisfy these demands, there is a series of events that will lead to be able to supply that demand. And, it is these activities that we have to synchronize, and to make sure that they are running in a certain order, to be able to deliver to the consumer what they want…” Guiste noted. “For consumer satisfaction, we need to start at the farm gate. What happens there is very significant to what the consumer may or may not receive… So, the value chain issue is one of great significance.”

Guiste mentioned that beyond the farm, extension, education, public awareness, particular husbandry practices, material quality, transportation, financing, and packaging all form part of the value chain.

CARDI representative, Maurice Wilson, urged persons to realize the importance of the value chain, in order to analyse key elements which contribute to the success of industries.

“The value chain exercise has become increasingly important… I think when you consider the elements linked to the value chain, you realize how important it is. For example, it provides the basis upon which the respective industries… can analyse the key elements that contribute to the success of those industries. And, because we can analyse the elements that are linked to the development and success of these industries, we set ourselves on a path to increase competitiveness, and to increase trade nationally, regionally, and overseas,” Wilson elaborated. “And so, we expect a lot from attention being paid to the value chain.”