Sat | Sep 30, 2023

US partners with Jamaica to revitalise local spice sector

Published:Monday | June 5, 2023 | 12:08 AM
United States Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry (second left) plants spice seedlings alongside (from left) Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green and President and CEO for ACDI/VOCA Sylvia Megret, while Dr Ronald Blake, chief of party
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United States Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry (second left) plants spice seedlings alongside (from left) Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green and President and CEO for ACDI/VOCA Sylvia Megret, while Dr Ronald Blake, chief of party, US Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Jamaica Spices project, ACDI/VOCA, looks on.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) and ACDI/VOCA officially launched the US Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Jamaica Spices project recently at the AC Hotel in St Andrew.

The event highlighted the project’s plans for the next five years to support pimento, ginger, and turmeric value chain actors. The event also celebrated Jamaican spices and its importance in Jamaica’s economy, showcasing growers and their products.

Floyd Green, minister of agriculture, fisheries and mining, and US Ambassador to Jamaica N. Nick Perry participated in the event, providing special remarks that highlighted the importance of the spice sector.

The initiative, funded by USDA, is aimed at supporting 7,500 farmers and agricultural market systems actors, including women, youth, and other marginalised groups, create a more diversified and vibrant spice sector and contribute to a 50 per cent increase in ginger, turmeric, and pimento through improved planting material and management practices.

“The launch has brought together the entirety of the spice value chain under one roof,” said Dr Ronald Blake, chief of party for the US Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Jamaica Spices. “This event marks the start of partnerships with key Jamaica agricultural agencies, such as the Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, Rural Agricultural Development Authority, and the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, that will lead to a stronger spice sector and recognition of Jamaican spices around the globe.”

Sylvia Megret, president and CEO for ACDI/VOCA, remarked: “It is a great honour to have been selected by USDA to implement this project in Jamaica. We are looking forward to all the accomplishments that our team, along with the Jamaican spice sector, will reach together.”

The US Department of Agriculture Food for Progress Jamaica Spices project is a five-year initiative that is expected to revitalise the spice sector to meet the existing export and domestic demand for turmeric, ginger, and pimento. The project is expected to result in a more diversified, inclusive, sustainable, and climate-resilient spice sector.