No Markets to sell our Produce

No Markets to sell our Produce

Despite the incredible quality of vegetables grown locally our local farmers are still facing different levels of challenges. One type of such stumbling block is the inability of farmers to capitalize on the increasing popular markets in the tourism industry, via hotels, restaurants etc. Even when there are bands placed upon certain commodities that are flourishing within the federation, it is still difficult to convince hotels, restaurants and supermarkets owners to buy local produce. Most hotel, restaurant and supermarket owners complain that the inconsistency within the farming industry is detrimental to their businesses. Because most farmers operate on a rain fed system, if the rain fall is high in the rainy season he or she may be able to supply fresh fruits and vegetables in a somewhat consistent manner. This type of uncertainty creates doubt in the consumers mind and costumers are not willing to buy the farmer’s produce and lose out on the special deals from the overseas producers. Many farmers today are finding it more difficult now than ever, it is much hard to compete with the cost of imported vegetables. This is because the cost of farming inputs are raising constantly and in order for the farmer to cover his cost, the farmer then must raise the price of his produce in order to accomplish such. Yet the government is short coming with proper policies and incentives to truly help the farmer in his time of need.

The sandy Point Agricultural Cooperative Society Ltd saw the need for a marketing arm, thus the Sandy Point Market was reopened. The reopening of the market was one of their main goal, hence it was Saturday morning the 3^rd of July 2010 that vision became a reality, and the market is still operational one year later. It was due to the heart aching experiences, as we witness farmers compete for the limited markets in the rainy season when vegetables are more flourishing. It’s because we witnessed farmers experiencing great loss that we felt it was necessary to revive the Sandy Point Market to help ease the burden. But this measure is only a baby step in the long journey ahead, as we strive to guarantee our federation a sustainable agriculture. The lack of storage, both dry and cold makes it impossible for farmers to store his/her produce over long periods of time. This also prevents farmers from adopting the post harvest technique.

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With this access to the market, the members of our cooperative still face marketing and distribution issues. The harvest period for Tomato is 90 days, an average of (3) months, whereas in the three months period the market channels about 400lbs of tomato. While one farmer produces over 5000lbs in that same period, this then is evidence that the market is inadequate in its effort channel the produce of the farmer in high production times. It is because of this ripple effect farmers are fighting a losing battle in the Fight for Food Security.