Planters' paradise! RADA head says farmers' markets redress imbalance

Mel Cooke, Gleaner Writer

Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) chief Alexander Powell said the organisation is seeing the desired effects of the farmers' markets - plus a shift in who holds the proverbial handle and blade in the tussle to wrest profits from the ground.

He trots out impressive statistics. "So far we have had 46 farmers' markets. We have had 2,062 farmers participating. We have sold close to 2.5 million pounds of foodstuff. Farmers have collected over $138 million and we have had close to 160,000 people visiting the markets," Powell said. This was for farmers' markets held from January 24 to May 25. "What would have happened to all that volume of production, I am yet to work it out," the RADA head said.

"In one period, Negril made up to $18 million for that day. Negril has a wider variety of demand, because people want honey to buy, the hotels want a lot of bammy for breakfast, lots of vegetables. Last time in Negril, of a group of about 8,000 people we had maybe 500 tourists walking in the group as part of their tour of Jamaica.

"What happened in the past is that some hotels would take goods, for example, and will not pay you until 90 or 120 days. When I plant my crops and take it to the hotel I cannot send my children to school. Those who give it to the supermarket will give $15,000 (worth of produce) and when they go back they will get $12,000, because $3,000 worth was spoilt. That is common in the system. Having worked with Seprod, and so on, I know you go around and take back bad goods." Now, he said, there are some hotels that are paying cash at the farmers' markets, notably in Negril.

Then there is the famed - or infamous - 'middle man'.

Powell said: "In addition to that, when a man goes to the country like Trelawny to buy yam, the farmer would have to give the buyer 40 to 50 pounds 'brawta' for every 100 pounds they buy. So when you put that together with the natural things that farmers suffer - praedial larceny, drought - he is continuously at the bottom of the scale in terms of a businessman."

"The farmer is a price-taker, not a price maker. He has to take any price he gets, because the perishability of the product makes it difficult for him to spend a week arguing. When I reap my vegetable today and you say you can only give me $10 a pound for my tomatoes and the next man comes and says $9 and the next man comes and says $8, you are afraid it will go down, so you sell it for the $8," Powell said.

driving economic activities

So, Powell said, the farmers' markets have done "several things. It has put power in the hands of the farmer, because when he buys and goes back to his community he is driving economic activities. He can buy a few beers, he can send his children to school, his wife can go and buy whatever at the supermarket".

"Second, the farmers' market has also provided another avenue and competition for the farmers, in terms of where you can sell your produce. And, very importantly, the farmers' market is providing a more even distribution for crops, because we are aware that you could have tomatoes in St Elizabeth selling for $10 a pound and in Kingston it is $200 per pound."

Then, Powell says, there is the larger effect on land usage. "It drives so much economic activity that in recent times, because people are sure of a market now, people are calling us to say 'you have any land? I want to farm, what do I farm?'. Many persons are expanding their acreages," he said.

The direct connection between farmer and consumer is key, Powell noting that when there is dialogue and the farmer can explain things such as using organic methods, the purchaser is inclined to spend more. And, of course, the markets tie into the eat Jamaican campaign.

He acknowledges that there has been some downside, with complaints about the farmers' markets. On May 15 The Sunday Gleaner reported vendors in the Papine Market, St Andrew, saying that the farmers' market was hurting their business.

Powell points to the number of sale days. "I am only prepared to say that if you are taking out one day from 30 days to hold a farmers' market that benefits farmers, consumers and all stakeholders, it cannot be a bad thing.

He broaches the concept of food security, saying that the farmers' market is having an impact on Jamaica's high food import bill, which stood at approximately US$800 million in 2009. "The farmers' market is having a definite impact on it," Powell said