Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Karl Samuda is calling on financial institutions to offer four per cent loans to the agriculture workers in efforts to boost the ailing industry.

“The sector cannot hope to thrive at the pace necessary to get this economy growing unless we have single-digit interest rates,” Samuda stated during the closing and awards ceremony of the revamped Scotia Vision Achiever Programme last Wednesday at the Scotiabank Corporate Learning Centre in Kingston.

“Agriculture cannot thrive on an interest that exceeds four per cent. This sector is one of the most challenging areas because every single day when a farmer gets up, he is going to wonder whether or not today is the day that I’m going to have good weather. So in terms of risk taking, farmers of this country take the greatest risk everyday of life.”

The minister added while partnerships are established to assist young entrepreneurs in taking their business model, good working relations must also be created for local farmers — a sector which currently accounts for 20.9 per cent of Jamaica’s GDP and is also a source of livelihood of 43.5 per cent of the rural population.

On Wednesday, Scotia recognised 25 young entreprenuers who engaged in a 17-week, capacity-building business course in collaboration with ActionCOACH Marcia Woon Choy. The second staging of the revamped Scotia Vision Achiever Programme brought the number of beneficiaries of the intensive business course up to over 130 small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

“This year’s journey began in May when we received 112 applications for the programme and it was a difficult task to whittle down the numbers to the final 25,” Scotia’s vice-president for small and medium enterprises, Dudley Walters stated.

“Programmes like these are important to Scotia, because we are very cognisant of the challenges that exist in the world of business, especially for SMEs. In our business we see the gap that exists, and some years ago rationalised that if the Jamaican business landscape was ever to improve, someone would have to step in and bridge the gap to make it easier for those traversing the world of entrepreneurship to be able to find success,” he continued.

Scotia recognised Longville Park Pharmacy, HBG Associates and Pineapple Court Hotel as the top three performers of the programme, having achieved a 30 per cent increase in sales for the month of June; a 35 per cent increase in revenue for the three months ending July; and expansion of the business to include a restaurant and bar, respectively.

Each winner received a tech boost valued at $150,000 from Digicel Business to deploy cloud backup, web support and a closed user group in building their businesses. In addition to the technology prize for the top three performers, the company also hosted a digital marketing workshop for the participants in the programme, which focused on how SMEs could leverage technology to diversify their marketing strategies and grow their businesses.

The companies were also presented with prizes from the Development Bank of Jamaica, eMedia Interactive Group and the Jamaica Yellow Pages.

“Our vision at Scotiabank is to continue investing in entrepreneurship and business leaders and that as you move forward, you will foster a culture of resourcefulness by encouraging your employees to think beyond their boundaries,” president and CEO of the Scotia Group, Jacqueline Sharp told the entrepreneurs.

“We know that you will inspire initiative and innovation, and trust that you understand that if you focus and develop your employees, it will result in better results for your customers and ultimately your business,” she continued.

Since 2011, Scotiabank has offered specialised training sessions to select SMEs as part of the bank’s mandate to build the capacity of the SME sector.

Through Scotia Vision Achievers, the financial institution provided training in a seven-module programme designed to impact the core competences required for running a profitable business such as sales, systemising business processes, marketing and understanding business financials.

Scotiabank earlier this year told the Jamaica Observer that it has invested US$20 million in the programme while the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund provides additional funding.