Improved Service to Farmers Through RADA Connect

The Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) has launched its Connect initiative, which is aimed at bringing RADA and other necessary services directly to the island’s farmers.

These services include technical support, advisory services, and other resources to improve their yields and strengthen food security across Jamaica.

As part of the initiative, farmers are also being encouraged to download the RADA mobile app.

During the launch at Newell High School in Watchwell, St. Elizabeth, on May 8, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, said that RADA Connect is about bringing essential agricultural services directly into farming communities.

“It’s about bringing all our technical support teams, so that you will have a one-stop shop on this day, where you can come out, you can get on-the-spot technical advisory support, and we can help you navigate,” he added.

The Minister said the initiative will ensure that RADA’s extension services are widely available to more of the island’s farmers.

“We decided to come on the road but not just to come on the road. A lot of you know our extension services are stretched. You have one extension officer, and that extension officer must serve over one thousand farmers. So, it makes it very difficult for extension officers to get to the farmers, especially when you need the extension officer most,” Mr. Green noted.

“A lot of our farmers have their smartphones, they are on Facebook, they’re on TikTok non-stop, they’re on WhatsApp around the clock, which is good. We want to use the technology to bring the extension services to your fingertips. So, RADA Connect is really part of a broader drive towards providing more support to you, our farmers,” he said.

For his part, State Minister in the Ministry, Hon. Franklin Witter, said the launch marks an important step forward in the Government’s commitment to ensuring that farmers have direct access to technical and advisory services through RADA.

“We want to ensure that we can improve production and productivity, so through this initiative we are bringing crucial services directly into our farming communities. We are bringing crucial services outside, and we are also making sure that we provide technical support training and the necessary information that is available to our farmers,” Mr. Witter said.

“The transformation of Jamaica’s agricultural sector depends on the strength of our partnerships, and that is why today we have so many of our input suppliers. We also have the National Irrigation Commission (NIC) and all the various partners being a part of this exercise here. RADA Connect represents a meaningful step in that direction in terms of bringing the partnership together to ensure that we continue to make agriculture one of the most important aspects of our economic development,” he outlined.

Meanwhile, Acting Chief Executive Officer of RADA, Garnet Edmondson, emphasised that the launch of the initiative signals “a bold step” in the Government’s mission to transform Jamaica’s agriculture and ensure that the island has food security.

“At the heart of this initiative is our unwavering commitment to food security, ensuring that every Jamaican in every corner of this island has access to safe, nutritious and locally produced food,” Mr. Edmonson said.

“We cannot overstate the importance of food security, especially in a time like now when there is a global interruption in food production. Agricultural growth and rural development remain central to Jamaica’s progress. Through RADA Connect, we’re not only bringing services to the farmers but we’re also helping to unlock their full potential,” he added.

The launch was held under the theme ‘Bringing agricultural support closer to you’.