Breaking barriers, providing opportunities

Inclusive training helps people with disabilities to thrive as spice farmers

This is a story of hope and possibilities. A US-funded project, aimed at increasing the productivity of high-quality Jamaican ginger, turmeric, and pimento and by-products, is providing women, youth and people with disabilities with hands-on training. The initiative is targeting 7,500 farmers on capacity-building support.

For farmers like Floyd Smith, a visually impaired participant in the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress Jamaica Spices project being managed on the ground by the international community development not-for-profit, ACDI/VOCA, the notable effort at inclusion has been a game-changer.

Smith was among several other disabled farmers and producers from across the island, who recently attended an ‘Inclusive Financial Planning and Marketing for Spice Producers Workshop’ at the JBDC Incubator Centre. He was in agreement when another visually impaired young farmer from rural St Andrew remarked at the workshop, “I feel seen and valued, it is like I finally have the chance to succeed just like everyone else.”

“We were deliberate and intentional in ensuring that this workshop catered to participants with physical, visual, and hearing disabilities,” said Shunelle Nevers, USDA Food for Progress Jamaica Spices, gender youth and social inclusion specialist. “It was important for us to guarantee that all stakeholders within the spice value chain had a seat at the table. We hired sign language interpreters for the hearing-impaired and ensured that versions of the project documents were prepared for the visually impaired participants,” she added.

FINANCIAL PLANNING

The participants learnt essentials of financial planning tailored for spice production, including profit growth and production costing, managing records and setting prices. This was complemented by a marketing and pricing strategies session focused on marketing principles, product differentiation and targeting, as well as effective pricing techniques.

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The workshop also set up a nursery area with a childcare provider, allowing mothers to fully engage in the training sessions without worrying about the care of their little ones.

“I have never been to a training that allowed me to focus completely while providing childcare for my baby free of cost,” said Shameal Chedda, a farmer. “It made a huge difference for me. When I go to the farm, I have to carry the baby pen and stroller and keep her with me all day,” said Chedda.

“I was very surprised to see a training programme with childcare for my baby,” she added.

The USDA Food for Progress Jamaica Spices project hopes to improve and expand the trade of ginger, turmeric, and pimento products by increasing their quality to meet international standards and connecting farmers and producer organisations with Jamaican and international buyers.

According to Dr Ronald Blake, ACDI/VOCA chief of party, the goal is to achieve annual sales of $20.75 million, of which $14.5 million will be realised from exports. “We will integrate climate-resilient farming systems that support farmers to use improved planting material and management practices on 2,250 hectares of land, sustainably increasing yields by 50 per cent,” added Dr Blake.

The project is collaborating with key Jamaican spice sector agencies, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, Rural Agricultural Development Authority, Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority, JAMPRO, micro, small and medium-size enterprises, and farmer-based organisations.