Farmers are being urged to form alliances in order to better market their products and get them sold.
This advice has come from Jean Lowry, Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture representative for Barbados, who noted that if farmers came together and were still unable to sell their products locally, they could also look regionally and worldwide for buyers.
Over the past few months a number of small farmers, including dairy and poultry producers, have expressed concern about not being able to get all their products sold on the island.
“First off, there is a need for clustering,” Lowry told BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY in a recent interview.
“Whether you are a young person; a man or woman, you have to cluster and be a part of a bigger group because it is impossible for four separate organizations or individuals to help themselves without that special type of organization.
“So once you get to that level, you can approach who you want to sell the products to [because] you now have a voice and visibility,” explained Lowry.
She added that a number of private and public sector agencies were able and willing to help small farmers grow their operations “but they can’t find them because they are just one little voice off in the distance”.
“Become a bigger voice and once you have that bigger voice, then you have that opportunity to find the solutions. You have representatives from a supermarket chain here, how are they supposed to know a little farmer? You have to come to them, but they are also not able to work with hundreds of producers, you have to form a group,” said Lowry. (MM)
