Local Farmers Invited to be Part of Grow Castor Bean Project

Local farmers are being invited to submit their applications for the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC) Grow Castor Bean project.

The project, a partnership among the Inter-American Development Bank, Jamaica Baptist Union and the JBDC, is designed to create wealth in approximately 337 Baptist Church communities and aims to provide a consistent supply of castor oil for markets locally and internationally.

Castor oil, the by-product of castor beans, is used primarily in the pharmaceutical industry as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory in cosmetic applications, and in the manufacture of high-grade lubricants and biodiesel fuel.

On the United States market, real Jamaican Castor Oil has the potential to earn between US$80 million and US$100 million, and globally, upwards of US$200 million.

The project seeks to target 80 farmers in St. Catherine, Clarendon, St. Elizabeth, St. Ann, and Manchester.

To be eligible for participation, farmers will need to provide evidence of their occupation through a Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) Registration Card or any other suitable means.

Persons interested in partaking in this initiative are encouraged to visit the JBDC website at www.jbdc.net and complete the application form. Application for the project is now open and will close on July 27, 2022.

The JBDC, which is responsible for the training component of the project, will provide farmers with the requisite knowledge, business skills and techniques necessary to operate and maintain sustainable businesses.

Project Management and Research Manager at the JBDC, Amanda McKenzie, shared that “it has been observed that castor bean farmers largely operate informal businesses, thus not benefiting from the same opportunities as more formalised operations.

Business skills training is, therefore, essential to improve farmers’ management of and increased access to financing”.

“There is [also] an immediate opportunity to increase the production of castor oil on a more formalised and commercial scale to realise further growth and value. Through this partnership, farmers will be supported to formalise and commercialise their operations to ensure greater efficiency and viability,” she added.

The training workshops, which are scheduled to take place on August 10, 11 and 17 in Mandeville, are aimed at developing specific business skills for farmers, including persons who cultivate and process castor beans. The workshops are designed to be interactive, experiential, and practical, utilising case studies and numerous activity-based methodologies.

The workshops will explore topics such as the entrepreneurial mindset, key steps to starting a sustainable business, and managing business operations, among others.

Speaking of the project’s significance to the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector, Ms. McKenzie said “the project directly supports MSMEs involved in agriculture and agro-processing to supply wide-spanning markets and develop innovations that will help them to boost productivity, competitiveness, and growth”.

The JBDC was established in 2001 as the premier government agency providing business development services to Jamaican MSMEs, taking them ‘From Concept to Market’.