Farmers And Fisherfolk To Receive Training In Enterprise Formalisation

Farmers and fisherfolk from across the island will receive training in enterprise formalisation and capacity development under the Formalising Operators in the Jamaican Agricultural and Fisheries Sector project.

The recently launched initiative is aimed at transforming largely informal operators within the Agriculture and Fisheries sector into formal businesses.

Speaking at a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’ on Tuesday, February 23, Chief Executive Officer, Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC),Valerie Veira, said that enhancing business and development support is crucial to the Agricultural and Fisheries sector playing a bigger role in the micro, small and medium-sized enterprise (MSME) sector.

“Access to training and other capacity-building opportunities is critical to the growth and development of the MSME sector. A business is not about the current crop. There is a need for more business planning, and practical research on the needs of the market, and the JBDC will lead the process of training MSMEs, with support provided by other key State and non-State actors,” she explained.

For her part, Assistant Manager, Business Advisory Services at the JBDC, Keera Walters, noted that along with the informal nature of a significant aspect of the Agricultural and Fisheries sector, there are several cultural barriers, such as insufficient entrepreneurial thinking, inadequate financing and ineffective governance capacity that limit the growth of the industry.

“There are a lot of uncounted players, both in the agricultural sector and the MSME sector; there are gaps that exist, creating a lot of vulnerabilities. The sheer size of the MSME sector means that we must strengthen their ability to impact the industries and sectors that they run across, so we must make sure that we are supporting them to contribute to nation building,” she said.

Participants will benefit from training in business registration with the relevant State authorities, access to public procurement opportunities, affordable financing, preparing the enterprise to engage with players in the formal economy, and structuring the operations for efficiency and effectiveness.

Interested persons can access application forms at all 14 Rural Agricultural Development Authority offices, National Fisheries Authority, the JBDC’s office, and Small Business Development Centres in Kingston, Manchester, St. Ann, St. James and Westmoreland.

Applicants may also download the forms from the JBDC website at www.jbdc.net, www.miic.gov.jm/ and /www.moa.gov.jm. The application period is February 22 to March 22.

The International Labour Organization-funded project will run from January to November 2021. The JBDC will be the government agency leading the implementation of the project.

The JBDC is the Government’s premier business development agency, established in April 2001 to assist in the sustainable creation and development of MSMEs in Jamaica.