THE PILOT phase of the Agri-Business Information System (ABIS) project, a programme aimed at helping farmers to better produce and market their produce, is almost complete.
Funded by the Government of Jamaica and the European Union, ABIS was introduced in 1998 to help farmers, exporters and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector use the Internet to register, track, guide and forecast agricultural activity. The project is being implemented through the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA).
Information technology manager at RADA, Douglas Nelson, explained that through ABIS farmers would know before reaping which buyers would purchase their crops, and the quality, quantity and price that would be paid for the produce.
He said ABIS would also allow farmers to duplicate the best agricultural production and marketing practices, including crop nutrition, and the crop protection and procedures required to enter foreign markets.
The system is in place at the RADA parish office in Linstead, St. Catherine, which is being used as a pilot project. Mr. Nelson said other RADA offices have been equipped with computers and put on the network.
The service is to be extended to other parishes next year and extension officers are being trained to collect data and retrieve information from the Internet.
There are plans to collaborate with the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Technology to establish centres where computers are made accessible to farmers.
