KINGSTON, Jamaica (JIS) — The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) hosted the first in a series of workshops for farmers, yesterday, aimed at providing the tools and information for cottage industries to transform agricultural production into formal business ventures.

The initiative, being carried out by RADA’s Home Economics Division, brought together farmers from East and West Rural St Andrew, at the Michael Manley Foundation on Hope Boulevard.  

Chairman of the RADA St Andrew Advisory Board, Lloyd Benjamin, said the workshop was done in such a way as to be able to reach a wide cross section of farmers from the hilly areas of St Andrew, allowing them to receive valuable information from experts.

“We want the farming groups to transform from just a cottage industry to be commercialised. So, when you go to the supermarket, it’s supposed to look like a quality Jamaican product that is being enjoyed by the customer,” he said.

Benjamin urged the farmers to utilise the information provided, as their success is key to the Government achieving economic growth, food security and lowering the nation’s import bill.

The workshop is being done under the theme ‘Utilising resources, strategic planning and proper execution – the key to a sustainable and successful business’.

For her part, RADA’s Home Economics Officer for Kingston and St Andrew, Brenda Green, said she will continue to liaise with the farmers, following the training sessions, to ensure advice provided is being implemented in their production and management practices.

Topics highlighted at the workshop included development and planning of business ideas, seeking sources of funding, creating a business plan, and understanding registration requirement. There was also a presentation on how to access funds from the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) as well as from the Ministry of Health and the Registrar General’s Department.

Inez Wilson, from the Mountain Bliss Farm in Content Gap, hailed the workshop as being an important step in helping her develop her business.

“It’s a way of helping us improve ourselves and maintain what we have. We are being educated, so it’s a way forward,” she said.