BETHEL TOWN, Westmoreland — Sorrel farmers in Westmoreland will soon have a facility for the processing of value-added products made from the sorrel plant.

Ground was broken Tuesday for the new sorrel factory, which will be managed by the Bethel Town Agricultural Cooperative. The project, being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), following funding by the World Bank, through the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI).

“The desire of the cooperative was to increase the earnings possible from sorrel cultivation while providing schools within the area with a nutritious locally made alternative juice,” said Stephannie Hutchinson-Ffrench, project manager for REDI.

The group, she said, is expected to realise a 400 per cent increase in revenue from having the value-added products from the processing facility for which funding has been approved.

Meanwhile, the Bethel Town cooperative chairman, Ian Hill, said the group would be seeking a larger market for their products as well as better returns, overall.

“Famers in Westmoreland currently sell mainly to higglers who sell in municipal markets and are not able to attract premium prices due to the nature of their market,” he said. This, he added, has limited their earning potential.

The project idea fits within the drive by the Ministry of Agriculture ‘Eat what you Grow and Grow what you Eat’ campaign as well as the Ministry of Education’s drive for nutritious locally-grown alternatives to imported concentrate.

The approved project will see the construction of a 204 square-metre agro-processing facility which conforms to food safety standard and includes a production area, bathrooms, dry storage area, cold storage area, a sorting area and an office.

Products under consideration are bag drinks, wine, jams/jelly, chutneys and sorrel-flavoured treats.

Total project cost is $24,829,240 with the amount requested from JSIF being $19,321,040 and community contribution in kind being $4,310,000.

In addition to the infrastructure works, a second phase will focus on the equipping of the facility, employees will be given training, while the cooperative will be provided with support for branding, labelling and packaging.

The group has also secured additional funding, through the member of parliament’s Constituency Development Fund, to help with its operational costs.

REDI’s Hutchinson-Ffrench stated that the aim of the project is to supply value-added sorrel products to the market, as well as generate employment opportunities for community members through expanded sorrel production, transportation of raw material and the finished goods and vending of the finished products.

The members of the Bethel Town Cooperative Society have approximately 13 acres of land that they farm for sorrel. The Westmoreland Association of Branch Societies, through its members, provide another 115 acres to plant sorrel for the facility.

According to Hutchinson-Ffrench, a market for fruit drinks to schools, shops and supermarkets in Westmoreland has already been established by the group, which is hoping to capitalise on a research done by the Northern Caribbean University (NCU) about the health benefits of sorrel.

The NCU research found that sorrel is very rich in antioxidants and products made from it are healthy and in great demand.

“… The project is in keeping with REDI’s project development objective to increase market access for small-scale rural producers. It will contribute to the Government’s thrust of safeguarding food security and creation of sustainable employment for rural communities,” said Hutchinson-Ffrench.

“In addition, Jamaicans are more health conscious and as such there is an increase in demand for healthier food and drink options,” she said, noting that the potential market includes schools, restaurants, supermarkets, grocery stores, shops, bars and health food stores in Westmoreland, St James, Hanover and St Elizabeth.