2 weeks ago
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Although the quality of Jamaica’s spices is considered among the best in the world, the farmers who grow ginger, turmeric and pimento are earning very little from their endeavours, with most of the money going to traders of the products, according to a recent study.
The spice sector VCA study, short for value chain analysis, was carried out by Technical Services Limited with lead researcher Dr Dianne Gordon, and the Competitiveness Company Limited led by Dr Beverley Morgan.
According to Dr Gordon, there was “limited interaction between the farmers and other value chain market actors, which creates a situation where farmers have limited information about market prices and opportunities. In terms of trading and market relationships among the targeted value chains, it was found in general that ginger, turmeric and pimento farmers gain a very small percentage of the final consumer price, generally, less than five per cent”.
The findings were presented at a spices value chain forum in Kingston on Tuesday.
The forum was part of the five-year Food for Progress Jamaica Spices Project, funded by the US Department of Agriculture.
The spice project, which encompasses 2,260 hectares of land, seeks to improve and expand the trade of ginger, turmeric and pimento products to achieve sales of US$20.75 million, with US$14.5 million from exports. It’s targeting 7,500 farmers, including women and youth, and aims to increase sustainable yields by 50 per cent with improved planting material and management practices.
Gordon noted that a few ‘aggregators’ dominate the market, receiving 90 per cent of the farmers’ output.
“Aggregators in the ginger and turmeric value chain sell about 80 to 90 per cent of the production to processors with the remainder going directly to supermarkets and other segments of the local retail market. Aggregators in the pimento value chain sell approximately 50 per cent of the production to JACRA,” she said.
The Jamaica Commodities Regulation Authority is the overseer and licensing body for spice commodity operators and traders. It oversees the spice market as well as export arrangements.
There are approximately 25 processors in the spice market using fresh, clean or dry produce to manufacture mainly packaged dry products, teas and other by-products such as curries, seasonings and oils. These processors sell and supply directly to exporters and to the local retail and supermarket trade. Processors are also the major exporters of spice products.
The VCA study showed that the processors “have little involvement in commercial cultivation or in research and development. They often experience supply gaps and supplement these gaps with imports in the dry and semi-processed form at prices significantly above local prices,” the report noted.
The three spices are mainly exported to the United States, United Kingdom, European Union, Canada and the Caribbean.
Gordon explained that the primary research involved a field survey of 60 farmers, with 20 representing each spice. She said the decision was to focus on a few illustrated cases, as a baseline study of a similar nature was being done at the same time.
The lead researcher said the farmers involved were mainly small-scale producers cultivating on plots of between half acre to one acre in size. She said the farmers mostly had limited resources and demonstrated low adoption of good agricultural practices and phytosanitary and traceability requirements. Consequently, production volumes were generally well below the optimal yield.
Commenting on the importance of the study, Morgan said recommendations to improve the spices sector needed to be evidence-based.
“We are working hard and at the end of the day, we want our farmers and all the people in the value chain to make money,” she said.
English (US) ·