WESTERN BUREAU:

Jethro Green, vice-president of the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN), says negotiations are under way for Jamaica and its Caribbean partners to supply a total of 60,000 pounds of cassava and sweet potato per week to an England-based distributor.

The CaFAN vice-president, who is also chief coordinator of the Eastern Caribbean Trading Agriculture and Development Organisation (ECTAD) made the disclosure during the official launch of the Montpelier agricultural show, in Montego Bay on Wednesday. He said CaFAN was relying on Jamaica to supply 20,000 pounds of the total.

"The offer was made through one of our main directors in the Trinidad and Tobago Agricultural Society," Greene said.

"Trinidad and Tobago, which is coordinating that aspect of the marketing, can only supply 15,000 pounds, and what they have done is come to the CaFAN secretariat to ask that there be a joint venture to bring in all our members so that we could try to supply that market.

"So once I get all that information from Jamaica - because I have got from Dominica, Grenada and St Vincent - we will then begin negotiation, as to prices and shipping arrangements," he added.

Greene said the Caribbean could look at joint bulk importation of fertiliser and inputs into the region and should work together as a region to compete with our larger neighbours.

new prospect

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, (JAS) Senator Norman Grant, who is also chairman of CaFAN, told The Gleaner he would be sending representatives to recruit farmers to become engaged in the programme.

"I have instructed the (JAS) parish managers to immediately go out there in the field and establish what sort of quantities are available," he said.

"What I am going to do is to immediately engage in a discussion with RADA, and the Ministry of Agriculture to indicate to them this new prospect and to see what farmers have out there available, and to come up with a framework that we can provide that, because this is a market that would be there on a sustainable basis," he said.

claudia.gardner@gleanerjm.com