Charles Jr urges more farmers to use online platform
Published:Wednesday | April 12, 2023 | 12:07 AMAinsworth Morris - Staff Reporter
Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr wants more local farmers to use the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) online platform to market and export their crops, following a boost realised in the first quarter of 2023.
ALEX was launched on December 12, 2018 by Minister of Tourism Edmund Bartlett, with objectives of boosting the gross domestic product (GDP) of Jamaica, increasing the consumption of local produce by tourists and registering and linking more farmers directly with buyers in the hotel industry.
However, in the last five years, farmers have not only bought into the vision of ALEX, but also began using the platform to find direct buyers with linkages for export.
“I encourage all farmers to sign up for and register on the ALEX platform and benefit from the increasing demand from the tourism sector for local produce. I urge our farmers and fishers to bolster your efforts to provide a sustainable supply of local produce to the hotel industry while supporting our ongoing efforts to reduce our food import bill,” Charles said during the recent launch of the 40th Farmer’s Month observation.According to Charles, in 2022, produce worth over $330 million was sold through the system, benefiting 1,733 farmers from 671 buyers registered on the platform, while, since the start of the year, 490 farmers have already earned approximately $108 million in revenue via the ALEX platform. In the first three months of 2023, Jamaica realised approximately 32.7 per cent of the total funds earned from the ALEX platform in 2022.
OUTPERFORMING
The minister commended farmers, fishers and other stakeholders for outstanding contribution towards the growth of the agricultural sector over the years, noting that, despite adversities, the agriculture and fisheries industry has been outperforming itself steadily for the last 10 years, with record numbers of growth.
“This is the strategic implementation of a plan to move Jamaica from where it was to where it is now, providing double-digit contribution to the gross domestic product and reducing our food import bill. We can say we are resilient as a country that is in the geographical zones and faces hurricanes, that will suffer from floods and drought and other climate conditions. But we have the innovation to mitigate against those things,” said the agriculture and fisheries minister.
“Your country is making decisions that the generations to come — our children and our grandchildren and great grandchildren — will either suffer or benefit from what we do today, and my goal, your goal, must be to create a Jamaica where our children will not be surviving, but thriving. We will continue to be resolute,” he said.
Activities for Farmers Month 2023 started with a church service in Rocky Point, Clarendon on April 2. It was followed by the establishment of a school garden at the special-needs institution, Randolph Lopez School of Hope, located in Kingston.
At that event, he said that the special-needs school was chosen for the first official event for Farmer’s Month, because the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries wants to ensure agriculture is inclusive, especially after the Government’s attempt to offer more benefits to persons living with disabilities, and following the implementation of the Disabilities Act on Valentine’s Day (February 14) last year.
“We send a message today that persons with disabilities have abilities, too, and that our responsibility is to focus on their abilities and to help them to nurture these abilities so that they can blossom, and agriculture and fisheries presents, in my view, a very real opportunity,” he said.
Charles also reiterated the importance of farming in Jamaica for food security.
Several activities will be held throughout the month and will climax with a church service at the Grantham New Testament Church in Clarendon on April 30.