St. Thomas Onion Farmers Receiving Buyers for Massive Yield

Onion farmers in St. Thomas, who have already produced two thirds of the national yield, will be receiving market support for their massive production.

Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., met with the farmers on Wednesday (March 29), where he informed that buyers are stepping forward to purchase the onions.

“Today has been a very good day. We listened to the farmers, we engaged them, we understood the concerns that they are having in terms of producing and looking not just for market, but for market at a price that they consider the reasonable price.

“And, we have brought to the table, willing interests; persons who have the national interest and who have expressed a desire to take up most, if not all of what the farmers have to sell. They are now discussing exactly what the prices will be,” Mr. Charles Jr. said.

He noted that the Ministry has also identified the need for storage and has opened its Christiana, Manchester facility to accept some of the onions, in addition to facilities in St. Ann and Clarendon. This is with a view to continue looking at options for increased storage, the Minister said.

“When we produce exceptional amounts, what we need is the capacity to be able to dry and keep that for a prolonged period and that’s where we are stepping in to give maximum support to our farmers and to the purveyors,” he pointed out.

Minister Charles Jr. congratulated the St. Thomas farmers for their outstanding yield and the strides they continue to make in onion production, pointing out that they are now the most productive in the Caribbean region.

Immediately following the meeting, Fresh and Direct, an organisation under the Potato and Onion Producers Association (POPA), purchased 20,000 pounds of onions from two Llandewey farmers, which was loaded onto trucks.

Chairman of POPA, Sherman Campbell, told JIS News that “we’re here to assure the farmers that we’re going to be buying out the crops that are available now and moving those into storage. We want to say thank you to the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), the Ministry of Agriculture and the Member of Parliament for inviting us here to have a fruitful conversation with the farmers.”

In his remarks, Acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of RADA, Winston Simpson, said that the entity intends to “cement the arrangements” being made between the purveyors and the farmers “as we prepare for a greater and larger harvesting in the next two months”.

Noting that the upcoming Easter season is usually the highest consumption period for onions as Jamaicans prepare fried fish and other delights, Mr. Simpson said, “we don’t see an issue going forward”.

“We are working closely with the farmers and we intend to serve them as best as we can to make sure that they don’t just bear the name of farmers but that they make money from their efforts,” he noted.