THE MINISTRY of Agriculture in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), last week staged a one-day workshop following the signing of a deal earlier this year aimed at establishing a cottage industry in coconut value-added products.
The FAO and the Ministry signed the US$322,500 agreement in February of this year.
Dina Masa, FAO consultant to the project, was the main presenter at the workshop and shared her Philipino experience with the farmers and training officers, marketers and policy-planners, about the technologies used for small-scale production of value-added foods.
Participants were invited to a lavish tasting feast of candy, coconut pie, coco jam, coco milk ice cream, biscuits and macaroons.
Jamaica's most popular palm, the Jamaica Tall, was reduced in population to 1.3 million from 5.2 million in 1983 after the attack of yellowing disease and was again dealt a blow when Hurricane Gilbert hit the island in 1988.
It served to destabilise the industry which until then provided the raw material for 93 per cent of Jamaica's edible oils.
The Coconut Industry Board has since sought to explore alternatives while continuing a major replanting programme of disease resistant varieties.
The Ministry/FAO project is one of several that are being formulated to develop more value-added products in the agricultural sector.
Speaking to the participants at the Farmers Training Centre in Twickenham Park, St. Catherine the Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, said that the FAO's involvement was timely as Jamaica has long been exploring lucrative alternatives to the traditional products.
Minister Clarke lauded the UN agency for its commitment to the agricultural sector and for its continuous support for programmes that are aimed at empowering women and improving the earning power of the rural farmer.
