Errol Ennis Urges Farmers to Develop Good Business Relationship with Customers

Minister of State in the Ministry of Agriculture, Errol Ennis, has stressed the need for farmers to understand the various segments of the markets they supply, in order to realize profit and develop good business relationships with their customers. Addressing a production and marketing workshop organized by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) for farmers in St. Mary on Wednesday (September 23), Mr. Ennis said it was only by having a full knowledge and understanding of the markets for which they produce, that farmers would be able to meet the demands of their customers while at the same time ensuring the success of their businesses.
The workshop, which was held at the Bethel United Church Hall in Highgate, was the first of a series to be held across the country, to enhance relations among the various partners in agricultural production.
Mr. Ennis told the farmers that while the prices they received for their products would vary depending on the markets that they supply, they should always ensure that their products were of the best quality.
He urged them to embrace the best techniques and practices in order to guarantee the best yield for their crops, noting that it was only by doing so that they would be able to cope with the competition, which confronts them in the global economy.
Observing that the world was becoming one market for the producers of goods and services, the State Minister said that trading arrangements under the World Trade Organization (WTO) must be understood and taken seriously by the farming community, if Jamaica was to remain competitive.
He congratulated RADA for sponsoring the workshop, noting that it presented an opportunity for cooperation between the public and private sectors in the quest to increase and diversify the country’s agricultural products.
The State Minister assured the farmers that Government was fully committed to working with the farming sector to ensure food security and to strengthen the sector’s contribution to national development. As part of this effort, lands were being identified in the parish for the re-introduction of a number of crops.