Local Farmers Empowered Under Five-Year Programme

More than US$200,000 has been invested in empowering farmers’ groups in Jamaica since 2019 under the Farmers Organization for Africa, Caribbean, and Pacific (FO4ACP) programme.

“These funds facilitated the development of management tools, the implementation of innovative productive techniques and capacity-building initiatives,” said Chief Technical Director in the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Courtney Cole.

He was speaking at the FO4ACP Caribbean closing activity on Tuesday (April 29) at the Sea Garden Beach Resort in Montego Bay, St. James.

The event marked the end of the five-year programme aimed at empowering family farming organisations in eight countries across the region. In addition to Jamaica, the others are Belize, Cuba, Dominican Republic, Grenada, Guyana, Haiti, and Saint Lucia.

A global initiative funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) and the European Union (EU), the FO4ACP programme aims to increase incomes and improve livelihoods, food and nutrition security and safety of organised smallholders and family farmers in African, Caribbean and Pacific countries, by strengthening regional, national and local farmers’ groups.

More than US$1 million was invested in the Caribbean region alone, directly supporting over 40 farmers’ organisations.

Mr. Cole said the project provided tangible benefits for all participating farmer groups in the country.

He noted that the initiative aligns with the Ministry’s ongoing commitment to encourage farmers to organise themselves into groups, better positioning them to benefit from essential services and support.

Mr. Cole commended the work of the FO4ACP Programme in Jamaica, noting that the investments made through the initiative “will create better conditions and more opportunities to unlock the innovative potential of each farmer organisation”.

Worldwide, the programme operates in approximately 70 countries with outreach of more than 52 million smallholder farmers.

The two-day FO4ACP closing ceremony brought together more than 100 representatives from 19 Latin American and Caribbean countries, along with key stakeholders from international organisations, to reflect on the programme’s success as well as to chart a path forward for sustainable agricultural development.

The event provided a valuable platform for showcasing collective achievements, celebrating the work of farmers, and addressing ongoing challenges in the agricultural sector.

Within the Caribbean, FO4ACP was implemented by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) Regional Office for Latin America and the Caribbean, PROCASUR Corporation, and Agricord.