CaFAN Newsletter Agrivybz 4

8/9/2019 CaFAN Newsletter Agrivybz 4

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CONTENTS

Editors Note ..

Facilitating the CaribbeanFarmers perspective

CaFAN, a vehicle towardsregional food security .

Leading the way to regionalUnity

A call for Guyana to rejoinCARDI

Home and backyardGardening

Bahamian Farmer rises to thchallenge

Bellevue Farmers Cooperatstrengths tourism link

Christiana Potato growersmaintaining its tradition .

CaFAN strengthens relationswith COADY

Hydrogrow shows Technois the way to go!

CaFAN Signs LOA with FA

A Vision for the regionsFuture

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Managing Editor: Jethro Greene | Administrative Support: Nyasha Durrant | Compilation, Editing,Design and Layout: Pet Secretarial Services | Communication Consultant: Jeff Trotman

Trade , an Agricultural Lifeline Most of the food that is eaten in the English speaking Caribbean is imported fromoutside of the region. Caribbean farmers feel that this foreign exchange drain couldbe dramatically reduced in CARICOM countries, if there is greater domesticconsumption of their produce and greater intra regional trade.

Members of the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) are seeking to initiatediscussions with operators of schooners to devise more efficient strategies foragricultural produce to reach regional markets. The regions farmers feel that intraregional trade could be an agricultural lifeline. Rather than purchasing canned andfresh vegetables from outside of the region, the respective regional countries couldfill shortages by supplementing domestic production with imports from neighboringcountries.

The regions farmers in noting a definite need to enhance intra regionaltransportation and at the same time reduce financial costs and enhance efficiency,explained that there is also a need for lobbying of policies relating to intra regionaltransportation at the respective national levels. CaFAN farmers leaders within thenetwork believe that in order to capitalize on the potential benefits of the EPA,Caribbean farmers have to become familiar with the agreement including the Rulesof Origin.

CaFAN members feel that the organization is in an ideal position as a regional bodyto determine what kind of assistance is necessary for Caribbean farmers to reach theEU requirements on a regional instead of an individual basis.

CaFAN Newsletter Issue Novem


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The Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) held an Agricultural TradeFacilitation workshop on the 27 th to31 st July at the Blue Horizon Hotel,Barbados. The workshop was fundedby the Technical Centre forAgricultural and Rural Cooperation(CTA) and catered for over thirtyrepresentatives from farmersorganizations from thirteencountries, including Belize, theBahamas and Suriname.

The workshop was aimed at

generating and sharing ideas thatwould help to foster greater intraand extra regional trade whileimproving linkages of agriculture toTourism, Health, Value Addition andFood Security within the respectiveCARICOM member states.

The fulsome contributions of theparticipants prompted JethroGreene, Chief Coordinator of CaFAN,to declare that the purposefulapproach of the participants toachieve common ground for theregions farmers was testimony thatfarmers organizations within theregion and their representatives aremore conscientious in achievingregional integration than theCaribbean politicians. He recognizedtheir commitment beyondthemselves as just making money,but to the greater good of theCaribbean and their community.

The farmers in the region are facedwith challenges that could only besurmounted with assistance fromgovernment and multilateralagencies.

What we need now is the technicalexpertise and the technical supportfrom our partners to help us meetthose challenges, Greene said, as heexpressed hope that the Barbados

government would support CaFAN.

CaFAN would be taking up thechallenge and the promise of supportby the Barbadian government andexpects Barbados would take a leadrole in pushing CaFAN at the regionallevel. Were expecting strongsupport by our three parliamentarycolleagues to ensure that theBarbados government takes a leadrole in pushing CaFAN, but we mustcome up with sound policies, soundprojects, sound ideas that makesense, and I know we will do it.

Greene went on to state thatchallenges must be accepted, peoplemust be engaged and changes madelittle by little.

CaFAN, he said, has the rightattitude, the connections and a lot of determination.

Greene concluded, At the end of thiswhole process, we have to lay thefoundation for good agriculture forour children; the next generation.What we do here today, history isgoing to record either positively ornegatively. I am convinced beyond ashadow of a doubt that CaFAN wouldbe recorded in history in a very

positive way and that when thecurtains of history are drawn, CaFANas an organization would beapplauded and you, the leaders herewould be applauded.

The official opening ceremony which took place on Monday July 27 th heard remarks and addresses from Senator the HonorableHaynesley Benn, Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development; Honorable Christopher Sinckler, Minister of Foreign Affairs,

Foreign Trade and International Business; Ms. Elsa Fenet, Head of Regional Integration, Political, Trade and Press and Info of theDelegation of the European Commission in Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean; Cleve Scott, Project Officer of Oxfam GB; Claudettede Freitas, Head of Information Management, CARDI; and James Paul, CaFAN Director and member of the Barbados Government.

Participants at the Agriculture Trade Facilitation Workshop


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CaFAN, a VehicletowardsRegional Food Security We have to do it as a region

President of the AgriculturalSociety of Trinidad and Tobago(ASTT), Mrs. Dhano Sookoo, is of the strong belief that we mustcome together as a region if thereis to be real agriculturaldevelopment and food security inthe region. Mrs. Sookoo, who is adirector of CaFAN, is adamant thatno longer can we do it as individualcountries faced with the manychallenges that are out there within

the Americas and the EuropeanUnion.

We have to do it as a region and Isee CaFAN as that vehicle to takeus where we want to go. No longerwill CARICOM listen to theAgricultural Society of Trinidad andTobago but to CaFAN, being therepresentative body of sixteenmember states and it must bepositioned and made to utilize its

capacity to incorporate the entireregion. We need to do that to enjoyfood security in the region.

She said that Trinidadians areaccustomed to importing most of their root crops and have enjoyed

very good relationship with St.Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG)in this regard. She recalls sittingdown last year in a meeting withthe Vincentian Minister of Agriculture and a delegation fromSVG to discuss regional trade,which discussed the need todevelop a regional food securityplan.

If St. Vincent is very good at

producing root crops, (dasheen andyams) then let us assist St. Vincentin developing that industry, Mrs.Sookoo argued. If Barbados is verygood at producing lamb to supplythe region, let us assist Barbados inits production of lamb for theregion.

Trinidad can produce vegetables;and we have done it in the pastyears we have done well with

watermelons and cucumbers, wehave done well with citrus. In fact,we have the best citrus in theworld. Then lets encourage ourfarmers in Trinidad to produce inquantity that can feed the region.And if Guyana has the vast amountof land and water, lets encourageGuyana to produce enough rice tofeed the region. Its a perfectexample of growing and producingfor our needs.

These are some of the issues weare trying to bring to thegovernment and hoping throughCaFAN we can deal with some of these issues at a regional level andget the regional governments to

understand that agriculture is aregional thing. It is no longer acountry thing; that food security isnow a regional thing and we mustcome together as a region if wereally need to address this foodsecurity that we have foundourselves in.

Mrs. Sookoo began her tenure asASTT President and Chairman of the Board of Directors in January

this year. While noting that ASTT isthe umbrella organization for thetwenty thousand plus farmers inTrinidad and Tobago, she said thatit has almost 5,000 financialmembers.

Although she modestly claims to bea pretty successful livestockfarmer, Mrs. Sookoo rears 27,000chickens and exports freshvegetables to the region withBarbados being her main market.

She also exports to St. Vincent and

the Grenadines as well as furtherafield to the United States, butconcentrates on the regionalmarket, because there are lesstrade barriers and sometimes theprices are better in the regionalmarkets than in the US.


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CaFANleads the way to Regional Unity

Jethro Greene is convinced that themembers of the CaFAN network aremore committed to regionalintegration than the regionspoliticians.

In his opening remarks at theAgricultural Trade Facilitation (ATF)workshop, Greene exhortedparticipants from thirteen Caribbeancountries to show unity in theiractions to back up the resolve theyhave shown individually andcollectively over the past ten years

when services were given priorityover agriculture.

According to Greene, the currentglobal concerns about food shortages

and rising food prices have triggeredso-called agriculture institutions andprivate sector people, who are nowpiggy backing on agriculture, tryingto make a quick buck out of it. Hestressed, Theyre not going to rideon our backs now. Thats why it isvery important that during ourdeliberations, we show unity in ouraction and we let everybody know that we are right.

He said that CaFAN should be proudand happy that the CaFAN family hasstruggled as one and is still here,people are going to recognize CaFANas one of the major voices of agriculture in the West Indies.CaFAN came together and are betterthan the politicians; the politicianscant agree on anything, so CaFANwill lead the way on regional unity. Ihave no apologies to make becausewe have been struggling for too longto be nice. We have to take a hard

line to ensure that people know thatwe are here. We have been here fora long time. We dont want anyinstitution to represent us.

Guyana called torejoinCARDI

Speaking at the Trade workshop inBarbados, Greene emphasized thatCaFAN is increasing its collaborationwith CARDI, in an effort to ensurethere is proper research anddevelopment in the region.

In this regard, he issued a call forGuyana, which is supposed to leadthe region in agriculture, to take itsvital place back in CARDI.

He added: One of the things werepushing is coordinated research andif we have a research anddevelopment institute like CARDI, wemust support it. We must finance itand we must ensure that we havethe best scientists so that we are in aposition to reduce our cost inproduction to give us the cutting

edge technology and it is veryimportant that we have thisrelationship with CARDI to ensurethat with our governments, we havepractical action.

He said that in addition to the issueof encouraging the Guyanagovernment to rejoin CARDI, CaFANis concerned about a number of other issues such as the CaribbeanSingle Market and Economy (CSME),which seems to be put on thebackburner, and the EconomicPartnership Agreement (EPA) withEurope. He said that CaFAN intendsto examine every aspect of the EPA,to understand where our farmers canbenefit, to look at the loopholes andat the dangers, in ensuring that ourfarmers take their rightful place inlobbying for improved status of regional farmers.

A section of the audience at the opening ceremony of the ATF workshop


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ECTAD stepped up its advocacy in promoting backyard/

home gardening across the Caribbean. Promotingbackyard gardening was included in ECTADs ninemonth Pilot Project, Linking Agriculture with Healthand Nutrition in which emphasis was placed onincreased production and consumption of local fruits,vegetables and root crops.

Chief Coordinator of ECTAD says the Ministry of Agriculture and the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of Health and the Environment has been supportive of the pilot project. He suggests that promoting backyardgardening could be another collaborative effort by the

Ministries of Agriculture, the private sector, schoolsand agricultural institutes, particularly in relation to thewidespread supply of seeds at affordable prices.

He also wants agriculture to be returned to the generalschool curriculum. This would stimulate awarenessand greater appreciation for agriculture among youngpeople, Greene said. According to him, the nine-month pilot project, launched in September 2007, hasbegun to bear fruit as more Vincentians have becomeaware of the nine dietary guideline that have beendesigned by the Nutrition Unit of the Ministry of Health

and the Environment.

Home gardening can be an invaluable hobby, saysMonty Roberts, an ECTAD Director. The formerMinister of Government has a thriving garden at hisCane Garden residence. According to him, homegardening is not only a meaningful way to engage inleisure finding communion with nature - it couldserve as a direct way of providing food for ones homeall year round and can contribute to family foodsecurity while helping to reduce the family food bill.

The home garden can also be used to influence thefamilys diet by producing vegetables and root crops,depending on the size and nature of the land that isavailable. By engaging in backyard gardening one canbecome meaningfully involved in linking agriculture tonutrition by growing fruits and vegetables that one caneat fresh from ones yard, particularly in developingcountries where green leafy vegetables, legumes andfruits can provide micronutrients such as Vitamin A andC, iron, sometimes Vitamin B and in some cases proteinand oil.

Home gardening can serve as an effective safety netagainst seasonally marketed fruits and vegetables asone could ensure that one provides the scarcecommodities for oneself, effectively augmenting orreplenishing the familys food supply. Apart from basicsubsistence, a well developed home garden canprovide income through the sale of produce.Additionally, the home garden can provide exoticspices and herbs that one can use in food preparation,processing and storage.

Tomatoes

Monty Roberts displaying lettuce grow in his home garden


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Sidney Sutherland, Agricultural Extension Officer,dealing with vegetables from Peruvian Vale to Fancy,made presentations at ECTAD workshops in which hedivulged various aspects and techniques aboutbackyard gardening.

Sutherland said the preferred soil for backyard gardenin St. Vincent is sandy-loam, porous top soil, whichwould afford leaching of water so that the plants wouldnot suffer from too much water in the soil. Herecommends two barrows (buckets) of white river sandto one of pen manure, which could be from cattle,chicken, rabbit, or small ruminants. He stressed thatdog down is not a consideration. The top soil should beloose and contain a lot of organic material so that thesoil would be able to hold water. According toSutherland, if one is planting in containers, one shouldbore holes at the bottom of the containers so that thewater could leach out.

He stressed that composting could be very effective inbackyard/home gardening. Explaining that compostshould comprise waste material from food preparationsuch as peels from ground provision, banana skin, etc.,Sutherland said one should designate an area in the

backyard to put such material including cardboard mixing them.

He also said composting could take up to a year for thestuff to be properly rotted. For persons who havelimited yard space but still want to engage inbackyard/home gardening, Sutherland pointed to avariety of containers that can be used, including usedtires from motor vehicles.

He advises that before planting one should prepare thesoil since soil preparation is extremely important in anytype of agriculture including root crops and carrots.This involves turning (churning) up the soil. He alsoexplained the importance of crop rotation formaintaining life in the soil

He also said crops such as melons, cabbage and squashtend to add nutrients to the soil from their roots.When their roots fall off, nitrogen from the roots go tothe soil and once it is properly rotted tends to also addhumus (organic matter) to the soil.

The Agricultural Extension Officer is also advisingpersons who engage in backyard/home gardening toengage in alternative activities if they have availablespace. If you have an area such as a swamp, you canrear fish inside of it. He added that the fish would eatthe mosquito eggs. Sutherland also said one could alsoengage in poultry and rabbit rearing.


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Accepting the Challenge;changing the pace People in the Southern Caribbeanwould find it difficult to perceive of a

dedicated farmer in the Bahamas.Henry Duncombe defies thatperception.

In an interview with Mr. JeffreyTrotman at the ATF workshop,Duncombe said that the workshophas helped him to understand theregion and to understand what otherfarmers are experiencing. He wasable to learn more about networkingwith other farmers within the regionas well as learning some of the new

technology including hydroponic andthe use of greenhouses.

Heres his story :

Truly, you wouldnt associatefarming with the Bahamas. If youlook at advertisement on televisionor radio, you would only think abouttourism. The Bahamas consists of atleast seven hundred islands, rocksand cays. We have 21 inhabitedislands with serious farming on atleast five of those islands. The islandfrom which I hail is Grand Bahamas.

We have at least ten thousand acresto farm on but we have an issue inthat no one is farming. Im the headof the Grand Bahamas farmersCooperative.

Our membership is really thirtypersons of which we have aboutseven or eight persons coming tomeetings and we have about fivefarmers.

Notwithstanding, we do have a largeindividual farmer on Grand Bahamas,

who hails from Greece but migratedto the Bahamas. He produceschickens and vegetables and heexports to America, but the (native)Bahamian farmers have been facingchallenges in getting governmenthelp and assistance (legislation tohelp the farming industry). Of course,the Bahamas being tourist based,were not looking at the eventualitythat we would have to try to feedourselves.

They tell the story that Hawaii growspineapples. But the Hawaiianpineapple actually came from theBahamas. Apparently, they grewpineapples in Eleuthera. TheHawaiians came and took thetechnology to Hawaii. Now, we dontgrow pineapples anymore.

The Bahamas used to be a farmingcolony many years ago. Now, theaverage age of a farmer is 70. Youngpeople are not getting involved inagriculture.

They said I look like a banker, but Iworked in the chemical industrybefore going into agriculture. I wasalways an entrepreneur. I had a fewbusinesses running. I ran andoperated an automobile cleaningcompany, but I found that to be toolabor intensive and me not havingcontrol over a number of things thathappen - people were damaging carsand stealing money.

I felt that I should go into agricultureor tourism. At the time, thegovernment was telling everybody togo into some tourist base Endeavouror to go into agriculture. Basically, Ichose agriculture without abackground, so, after choosing that Ihad to read and learn and try to gainas much knowledge from one or twofarmers, who were in the area.

I grow mainly bananas and hotpeppers and guavas. When I first

entered into agriculture I also didchickens for a while. But when Ientered agriculture I couldnt find asource that could help meunderstand some of the issues.

I started out with two acres of bananas. Then I moved to five acresand found some challenges. I couldnot find anyone in the Bahamas whocould help me. It so happened that Iran into a group that was sellingbananas from St. Vincent. I went toSt. Vincent for about two weekswhere I learnt all about tendingbananas. And when I returned inbout ten months, I had my crops turnaround.

At that point, after doing all thatgood work and I had everythingcolored and bagged and labeled andeverything like that it was Septemberand the hurricane took over. Andafter that, most of the farmers had torun.

I lost about $15,000 in crop damagefrom the hurricane. About elevenmonths after the hurricane, somefarmers received somecompensation from government butwhat I received was well below mylosses. I was growing bananas to theexport quality as in St. Vincent but Idid not have the quantity to exportto Europe. I exported to other islandsin the Bahamas.

After losing a lot of money due to

the hurricane, I decided to diversify. Iam now planting guavas. Somefarmers have done market researchinto the prices of fresh vegetables.

Some consideration is being given tolinking tourism with agriculture in theBahamas but its at an exploratorystage. It is anticipated that CaFANwould support farmers in theBahamas, who make up the network.


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Belle Vue Farmersstrengthens Tourism Linkage The Bellevue Farmers CooperativeSociety Ltd is set to engage in its

second initiative in St. Lucia incollaboration with the Barbados basedOxfam GB with technical assistancefrom ECTAD. This initiative is a threeyear project, aimed at building on thesuccessfully implemented Linkingagriculture to Tourism. It involves300,000 in grant, loans andguarantees and will intensify the focuson selling local fresh fruits andvegetables to St. Lucian hotels.

The project is expected to benefitrural communities by increasingshareholder returns of eight hundredfarmers and their families by ten tothirty percent. It is also expected toincrease womens participation andcontribution as business leaders andpublic policy influencers whileimproving their earning potential.

Additionally, against the backdrop of declining banana markets andreduced preferential treatment in

Europe, this new thrust is intended toserve as a sustainable alternative infarming communities. This will placeemphasis on banana cultivation andother traditional food crops by helpinga smooth and viable agriculturaldiversification process.

For their mutual benefits Local farmers expect to benefit fromassured incomes should they provideconsistent supplies of acceptablequality fresh fruits and vegetables tothe 60 hotels in St. Lucia. Thesehotels have a total of 2,650 roomsserving 300,000 visitors annually. It isanticipated with the rate of construction in St. Lucia, the countryshotel rooms will increase to about5,000 by mid 2009.

Although, the hotels currently importmore than 70 per cent of their

produce, they recognize that byoffering local produce to their guests,thereby, giving the visitors anauthentic experience and in theprocess, the hotels appear to be goodcorporate citizens. By increasing theirpurchases of local produce, the hotelscan reduce costs. It is estimated thatthe two Sandals resorts in St. Luciasaved almost 200,000 in 2006 bybuying locally. This trend is expectedto continue.

Achieving their objectives This three-year programme aims tostrengthen marketing functionthrough staff recruitment, branddevelopment and work jointly withhotels that are contracted to touroperator Virgin Holidays. It also aimsto increase market share from 10 to25 per cent by expanding product mixfrom nine to fifteen products andexpanding customer base from 15 to30.

The project is geared at developingproduction planning systems tomonitor and evaluate the enterprisewith the intention of improving pricesand distribution service. And aims toeducate and inform all stakeholderson the benefits of local purchasing.

Provision of training and mentoring toan additional 400 farmers along withthe current farmers groups is anotheraspect of the project objective. This

would include influencing adoption of best practices across all businessfunctions including procurement,production planning, post harvesthandling and accounting.

The programme is expected to utilizea buffer fund for an additional 400farmers to cover debts incurred whilethey await payment from hotels,

thereby enabling a sustainableenterprise. It is also expected to

advocate for and lobby key partnersand stakeholders to influence andfoster strategic alliances with thegovernment and tourism sector.

The St. Lucia model of LinkingAgriculture to Tourism has beenenvisioned against the twin backdropof the island being one of the morecompetitive Caribbean countries in

the highly lucrative tourism industryand being an agricultural country inwhich its main agricultural crop hasseen a decline on its main market,Europe.

St. Lucias well developed tourismindustry generates an annual incomeof 200M while there have beenlimited opportunities for the countryssmall farmers to compete on aglobalized market.

Consequently, it makes for good sense

for the countrys farmers to cash in onthe lucrative domestic tourist market.The initiative which is led by therurally based Belle Vue farmersCooperative Society Ltd, also involvesthe Black Bay Farmers Association,Banse Farmers, and Grace Farmers.This informal network has beenworking closely for five year.

VincentiaFatal,

CorporateSecretary for the Board of

directors of theBellevueFarmers

Cooperative


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Christiana Potato Growers Cooperative Association LMaintaining a Potato Tradition

Sweet potato is now regarded as one of the worldsnewest health food, said Mr. Alvin Murray, the GeneralManager of the Christiana Potato Growers CooperativeAssociation Limited. He proudly added, Because theclimate is much cooler than in the southern Caribbean,the Jamaican sweet potato is preferred by theimporters, and because they are sweeter.

He said the current emphasis on sweet potato is in line

with the farming tradition of the Christiana community,which has a one hundred year history of growing potatosince Irish potato was taken to Jamaica by MoravianMissionaries (food they were eating in the US).

Very soon the crop caught on and started replacingcotton as the major crop in Central Jamaica in the hills,averaging about 2,700 feet above sea level, Murraysaid, adding that by 1980, over 4,000 acres of land wasunder potato cultivation.

He said potato production reached a peak in the 1980s

with much of the produce exported to Guyana andTrinidad. But, unfortunately, due to globalization, thevery Canadian company that in the seventies andeighties put in most of the seed potatoes in Jamaica isnow exporting four different varieties to Jamaica.According to him, unbridled dumping of North Americanpotato to Jamaica, has forced local production of thetuber to drop to 10% of 1980 production.

Since it started in March 1959, the organization hasachieved much in terms of infrastructural development.The organisation became discouraged in 1992 when,although the government spoke a lot about boostinglocal potato production, the industry got no assistancefrom government which saw Christiana Potato Growersas an entity without comparative advantage.

Having been able to utilize tissue culture and greenhouse technology, it created a perfect opportunity forthe Cooperative to produce their own potato seeds,

thereby, allowing them to plant their main crop in thefastest possible time, which they had not been able todo in previous years.

Seeds are only available for planting between Novemberand April each year, while the best time for planting isJuly-August. That crop would be ready for Christmas andthe tourist season. Harvesting of the main crop wouldtake place in the cool season when the rainfall is moreassured.

The major distribution company in Jamaica would be

signing an agreement for the Christiana Potato GrowersCooperative to sell greenhouse vegetables to the hotelsector. This will allow the members of the Cooperativeto immediately access increased cash flow.

Different varieties of the Sweet Potato


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The Cooperative is a direct member of the JamaicaAgricultural Society, which was instrumental over fiftyyears ago in getting farmers to form their owncooperatives. According to Murray, the Cooperative hasa membership of 17,000 and attempts to maintain a oneto one relationship with its membership.

Although he does not believe in a full scale loanprogramme, he said that there is a consensus among themembership that there should be an input creditsystem.

He pointed to a five year development plan, which couldbe used to add value to the farmers produce, beginningwith sweet potatoes. The Cooperative has about US$1Min assets. It is expected to add to this by utilizingrecently received funds from the countrys PrivateSector Development Programme (funded by theEuropean Union) to build about 2,000 square feet of greenhouses, which should build the capacity of thecooperative and increase potential for additionalincome.

Land has been cleared and important equipment havebeen purchased at about J$1M (approx. US$12,000), toconstruct greenhouses. Although the Christiana farmersoperate in hilly, mountainous terrain, access roads totheir farms are fairly good.

The Global Environmental Fund (GEF) has just given usa grant for US$30,000. What we are doing with that is toestablish fruit trees two and a half acres. We haveintercropped that with yams and sweet potatoes for thefarmer who is going to make a transition.

Murray said an international organization visited theChristiana farming community a year ago and wasimpressed. He said the organization is willing to help thefarmers but because of Jamaicas national debt burden itcannot lend the Christiana Potato Growers any money.

He said the organization is willing to make a grant of US$30,000, most of which would be spent at theChristiana Potato Growers Cooperative demonstrationfarm. The organization is also prepared to loan theCooperative up to US$5M at 6% interest but thegovernment cannot guarantee that loan because of thenational debt burden.

COADYInterns doing it theCaribbean Farmers way!

COADY Interns Laird Herbert and Paula Hearn, assist NyashaDurrant with final preparation of Dasheen for shipment to Europe.

COADY Interns promoting ECTAD/CaFAN booth during the Agriculture Week of Activities (October 2008)

Laird and Paula are not afraid of getting their hands dirty for thegood of agriculture; Planting ECTADS Garden.


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CaFAN Strengthensrelationship with COADY Interns hand

The Caribbean Farmers Network(CaFAN) through its Vincentian basedSecretariat; the Eastern CaribbeanTrading Agriculture developmentOrganisation (ECTAD) is strengtheningits relationship with the COADYInternational Institute of St. FrancisXavier University in Nova Scotia,Canada.

The strengthening of ties betweenthe two organizations initially involvesCOADY volunteers participating indevelopmental work with ECTAD andwith CaFAN member organizations.The relationship also allows forECTAD/CaFAN to recommend personsto attend the various diplomas andcertificate courses provided byCOADY at the St. Francis Xaviercampus at Antigonish, Nova Scotia.The institution also has on-lineeducational facilities.

COADYs main focus is on effective adult education approaches tobuilding leadership and strengthening organizational capacity. It is

education for action. It is a transformative learning experience thatequips development leaders with new knowledge, practical skillsand a renewed commitment they take back to their communitiesand their organizations to build better societies. It is education thatmatters!

COADY has a network of over 5,000 graduates and a number of global partners in over 130 countries, reaching out to millions of men, women and children in the worlds poorest nations andcommunities.

The Institute is named in honor of Rev. Dr. Moses M. Coady, whowas a leading figure in the Antigonish Movement, which soughteconomic and social justice for people in Nova Scotia, Canada in the1920s and subsequently spread throughout Canada and the rest of the world.

Laird Herbert, Intern associated with CaFAN,assists Monty Roberts, ECTAD Director, with the

planting of Sweet Potato at Orange Hill, St.Vincent and the Grenadines

Dasheen planted with the assistance of Herbert


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Hydrogrow showsTechnology is the Way to Go

Participants entering one of the greenhouses

Greenhouses

Participants of the ATF regional workshopwere taken on a field visit to HydrogrowFarms Inc in Barbados.

Hydrogrow Farms Inc. is a project dedicatedto the large scale production of vegetablesby hydroponics. Hydroponics operates onthe premise that soil is not essential toplant growth. It is a method of growingplants in greenhouses, using nutrientsolutions instead of soil.

Keeley Holder as she explains to participantsthe operations of Hydrofrow

During the guided tour by Keeley Holder,Integrated Pest Management Specialist, thefarmers leaders had much to feast theireyes on and to contemplate.

Workers packaging produce while participants look on


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CaFANsignsLOAwithFAO CaFAN has signed a Letter of Agreement with the Food andAgriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) tohost and organize a regional workshop on strengtheningthe capacity of Farmer Organizations (FOs) to respond totrends in agricultural markets. The workshop is schedule totake place at the Bay Gardens Inn in St. Lucia fromNovember 24-28, 2008.

This workshop, funded by the EC - All African CaribbeanPacific Commodities Programme , is a direct response to arequest at the regional consultation workshop in MontegoBay, Jamaica in April 2008. For more information on theoverall programme please visit(http://www.euacpcommodities.eu )

The workshop will bring together representatives fromregional and national farmer organizations andagribusiness. The objective is to identify capacity buildingstrategies that FOs and networks at the regional, nationaland sub-national level can promote in order to supportsmallholders become reliable and profitable suppliers forthe agribusiness sector.

A major output of the workshop will be the national andsub-national capacity building strategies to be supportedby FAO under the EC-ACP programme or by other donors.

IntroductionThe opening up of markets and the closing down of statemarketing boards have meant that small-farmers and otherplayers in agriculture (processors, buyers, traders, andexporters) now have to organize and interact with oneanother differently. Todays markets demand largervolumes, lower prices and higher quality produce, and theactors involved have to constantly cut costs to survive andmake profits. Smallholders struggle to keep up with thesenew trends and find themselves at a disadvantage as theyhave high transaction costs and low bargaining power.

To deal with these challenges in agriculture, FOscontinuously look for new ways to organize their membersso that they can make more profits and cost savingsthrough collective action, such as bulk buying, collectivemarketing and negotiating credit and contracts. Howeverthey frequently face a numbers of obstacles, which aremostly linked to capacity on three fronts: markets, servicesand voice.

Capacities of Farmer OrganizationsMarkets : FOs play an important role in assisting theirmembers to access more profitable markets. To compete inthese markets an organization needs to have access to thelatest information and a number of skills such asproduction techniques, marketing, and knowledge onquality and food safety standards and legal contractmatters.Services : FOs provide a range of services to their membersincluding technical advice, access to credit, cheaper inputsthrough bulk buying, storage facilities, and training incompliance with certification and standards. To deliverthese services FOs need a range of technical, managementand organization skills.

Voice: Representing the common concerns and interests of members has always been an important role for FOs.Advocacy and negotiation skills can help influence decisionmaking and increase bargaining power when negotiatingcontracts or policies. Conflict management skills can helpresolve problems caused by conflicting members interests.

Farmer Organization networksThe capacities that FOs rely on reflect the types andnumbers of farmers the organization represents, such as, agroup of farmers from a community, a commodity specificcooperative, a national farmers union, or a regional farmersfederation.

For instance, a farmers federation will share informationamong its members, do advocacy, negotiate with policymakers, direct agronomic research, and participate at highlevel meetings. A community FO will carry out a widenumber of activities ranging from marketing its membersproduce, primary processing to providing loans andtechnical advice and training.

The World Banks Development Report 2008, distinguishesFOs into three categories of functions: (i) commodityspecific that focus on economic services (ii) advocacyorganizations such as a national producers union, and (iii)multipurpose organizations that provide a combination of economic, political and social services.

ConclusionStrengthening FOs at different levels, from national tocommunity level, in capacities that focus on responding tothe needs of agribusiness demands can supportsmallholders become reliable and profit-making suppliersof agriculture produce.

Source: Terms of Reference under LOA PR: 40264


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FOCUSCaFANS major focus is to link Caribbean farmers sothat they are in a better position to face key challenges, with a view of coming up with feasible

proposals for solutions at the national and regional levels. The Network has identified several

programme areas which include enhancing thecapacities of farmers associations to represent their members, raise awareness and influence decisionson issues affecting farmers, mobilise resources onbehalf of members, and facilitate the increase incommunication between and among the network members.

MEMBERSHIP Membership of CaFAN is open to farmers associations in countries of the Caribbean region. Todate, the following countries have participated inactivities of CaFAN: Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados,Bahamas, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Kitts/Nevis; St Lucia, St Vincent & the Grenadines,Trinidad & Tobago and Suriname.

EXECUTIVE MEMBERS Chairman : Senator Norman Grant, Jamaica

Agriculture Society (JAS), Jamaica

Chief Coordinator : Jethro Greene, EasternCaribbean Trading Agriculture and Development Organisation (ECTAD), St. Vincent and theGrenadines

Director : James Paul, Barbados AgricultureSociety (BAS), Barbados

Director : Claudette de Freitas, Caribbean Agriculture Research and Development Institute(CARDI), Trinidad and Tobago

Director : Dhano Sookoo, Agricultural Society of Trinidad and Tobago(ASTT), Trinidad and Tobago

Embracing the Vision, Capturing the Heart CaFAN was formed to create and sustain dialogueamongst farmers organizations within the region.The organization, which began as a loose body of crop farmers, has grown to include livestock andpoultry farmers as well as governmental marketingbodies and agro processors within the Caribbean.

The network comprises farmers organizations fromthirteen member countries of CARICOM and isincreasingly being recognized as the leading voicefor farmers and farmers organizations within theregion.

However, the leadership of CaFAN is cognizant thatwhile it wishes for the members of the network tomaintain their respective autonomy, itsmembership includes farmers organizations thatrepresent disparate interests with the agriculturalsector within the respective members countriesand may even represent different regions within acountry.

Ventilation of these disparate interests at a

common forum could be distractive and couldretard the effort by CaFAN to be a common frontfor all farmers and farmers organizations withinthe region.

Consequently, CaFAN is encouraging itsmembership in respective countries to developclusters, which can identify common causes at thelevel of the cluster, which can then be taken by therespective national bodies to CaFAN.

In essence, CaFANs vision is to ensure that theregions farmers get their fair share of theeconomic pie. This can only be achieved bybuilding capacity amongst farmers and farmersorganizations so that they can be empowered andbecome self assertive to be able to respond to thechanging world environment in marketing, tradeand finance.


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Caribbean Farmers Network

C/o Eastern Caribbean Trading Agricultureand Development Organization (ECTAD)

P.O. Box 827, BeachmontKingstown, St. Vincent and the Grenadines

[email protected] or [email protected]

Tel: (784) 453-1004 Fax: (784) 453-1239

This document has been produced with the financial assistance of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural cooperation (CTA)However, the views expressed herein can in no way be taken to reflect the official opinion of CTA

Date post:	30-May-2018
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