Four strawberry farmers have accessed financing of $43 million from the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) to improve and expand their production.

Their success stories were outlined at the Strawberry Cluster Open Day hosted by Diandra Rowe, Caricom’s Champion Youth Farmer for 2023, at Abbey Garden Farm in Mandeville, Manchester, on April 30, the Jamaica Information Service has reported.

The four farms are Synergy Business Solutions, Abbey Garden Farm, Jikoni Table of Jamaica Limited, and Adam’s Valley Farm.

Speaking at the Open Day, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining Floyd Green expressed satisfaction that the Government, through the DBJ, is making money available for farmers who want to invest in agriculture.

The four farmers used the money to conduct a study tour to California to explore global best practices; developed a technology pack suited to Jamaican growing conditions; constructed new greenhouses and retrofitted existing ones with advanced solar-powered cooling systems; and introduced a high-yield strawberry variety, which has adapted well to Jamaica’s climactic conditions.

“The very first function of Dr David Lowe as the new head of the DBJ was agriculture-related, where we signed a document with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the DBJ. We are going to be training farmers in financial literacy and, more importantly, train extension officers who can go out in the field to train farmers in the fundamentals of financial literacy,” Green said.

He explained that through this process, farmers would be in a position to access financing with a registered business and a business plan. He noted that meetings had been held with the DBJ to ensure that capital was not only available but accessible and at a cost that would give farmers good returns on their investment.

“We have already decided that we would meet quarterly to make this happen. Today is a sign that we already have some of the models that can make this happen. We have advised farmers to organise themselves into groups, because it is much easier to get help as a cluster than going it alone,” the minister said.

Meanwhile, Lowe said with Jamaica importing millions of dollars worth of strawberries annually, “we are on the road to import substitution”.

“It is important to us when we put forward solutions and tools that allow clusters like this to grow and make an impact. Globally, we see that the things that come from this are not just limited to jams, jellies and preserves but also in the nutraceutical and pharmaceutical industries — two very high value spin-offs that we need to be thinking of,” Lowe said.

He assured the farmers that DBJ would be happy to partner with them at the next stage of their development.

The capital that supported the cluster came through the Boosting Innovation, Growth and Entrepreneurship Ecosystem (BIGEE) programme.