A total of 85 community-based Production and Marketing Organisations (PMOs) have been registered by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), which will enable them to access funding and other support to benefit their members.

Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries JC Hutchinson last week presented RADA certificates of registration to 50 groups in Westmoreland and 35 in Hanover, at separate ceremonies held in the parish capitals of Savanna-la-Mar and Lucea, respectively.

“These certificates are actually like a passport for the PMOs, where they can say that they are an agent of RADA, and they are an organisation within the body of RADA,” Hutchinson explained.

Speaking to JIS News after the presentation ceremony in Hanover, he said that the PMOs are the driving force behind the agricultural sector at this time, noting their invaluable work in the marketing of agricultural produce from their respective communities.

Stating that the certificates presented will help to “strengthen their hands a little more”, he said that the PMOs can put forward proposals and seek funding for community projects from various agencies.

He mentioned a new funding initiative to come on stream by the end of February, dubbed the ‘Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI)’, through which they can seek assistance. The programme, he informed, will be implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF). He said that large organisations can access up to US$200,000 to fund projects, with a maximum of US$50,000 for small groups.

A total of 160 certificates of registration will be handed over to PMOs in the parishes of St James and Trelawny over the next few days.

The PMOs, which consist of farmers, benefit from training in marketing support and good agricultural practices.