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As the banana industry collapsed in the Caribbean over the past decade, farmers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines took a proactive stance, focusing more on the production and export of taro, a variation of taro, the starchy Caribbean staple. This new direction has more than doubled the farmgate price of taro, and its success is largely due to a project launched by FAO in 2008 to provide alternative income opportunities for commodity-dependent farmers. FAO worked with the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN) to build professionalism and capacity among farmer groups across the Caribbean. Today, farmers in the region view and treat their farms as businesses, thanks to the commercialization process promoted by the project. This, in turn, has strengthened value chains and created stronger farmer market links across the nine Caribbean countries.
Whether the goal is to improve sales of Irish potatoes in Jamaica, yams in Granada or taro in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, market success depends on having strong value chains and well-developed farmer-market linkages. This is particularly true in the Caribbean, where countries have previously focused on just one or two export crops. As they recognize the need to diversify their crops and markets, they also recognize the need to establish new production and marketing channels. FAO is working with the Caribbean Farmers’ Network (CaFAN), a regional network of farmers’ organizations, to support nine Caribbean countries in their efforts to build their agribusiness capacity, encouraging farmers to think and plan before they plant.
In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, FAO supported the local CaFAN member, the Eastern Caribbean Trade and Agricultural Development Organization (ECTAD). At the time, ECTAD was newly established and had little experience working in regional or export markets. FAO provided advice to help ECTAD improve its professionalism and capacity to network with members, and provided information including details of support services. FAO’s assistance included training courses on production techniques, record keeping, production costing, marketing and post-harvest activities, as well as hosting grower-buyer meetings, which helped to improve trust and transparency along the value chain and agree on measures needed to improve market supply.
When local farmers began selling their taro through ECTAD and its market links in the UK, they took part in practical training sessions to increase yields and learn how to organise and work through farmer groups. For example, they learned to grade and pack their own taro before sending it to ECTAD. All this added up to a 100% increase in returns.
Exports increased, prices rose
Today, ECTAD has improved its services to taro farmers in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, providing them with advice and helping them coordinate and improve the quality and value of their products, thereby increasing prices and ensuring reliable export markets. With ECTAD’s support, farmers from the three main taro producing regions have come together to meet regularly and develop their value chain.
The project also organizes region-wide lessons-learned workshops and training sessions and encourages ECTAD farmers to meet with other more experienced cooperatives and farmer organizations and learn from them. Therefore, in addition to providing basic learning materials on marketing and agribusiness-related activities, the project also supports farmer-to-farmer exchanges, through which farmers visit other countries. During these visits, they learn new production technologies and how other farmers solve problems such as start-up financing and post-harvest handling.
Practical and professional training
FAO also involved the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) and government extension services. They brought practical expertise and provided training on topics ranging from increasing yields through spacing planting to the introduction of field boxes, which not only extend shelf life but also improve the appearance of the produce, making it more attractive to consumers.
There is no doubt that farmers’ organizations have improved their marketing skills and increased their professionalism. With FAO’s support, CaFAN has now expanded its coverage from 7 to 15 countries and increased the membership of regional farmers’ organizations by 50%. In St. Vincent and the Grenadines, ECTAD now has more than 700 producers. In addition, ECTAD has expanded its coverage and now supports farmers in other parts of the island who want to form producer groups.
Impacts are also being seen at the policy level. In addition to working directly with actors on the ground, FAO is supporting Caribbean Food Network members to build partnerships with national government agencies and ministries, giving farmers a voice in government policy decisions. Farmers’ organizations are currently participating in regional forums to guide food and nutrition planning in the Caribbean.
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