Acting Coordinator for Advisory and Field Extension Services, Jamaica Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (JACRA), Gerald Bryan, speaking during a Jamaica Information Service (JIS) ‘Think Tank’.
The Jamaica Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (JACRA) has endorsed the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food for Progress Jamaica Spices (JaSPICE) project, which aims to revitalise the country’s spice industry.
Acting Coordinator for Advisory and Field Extension Services at JACRA, Gerald Bryan, told JIS News that the collaboration on the project marks a significant step towards enhancing the production and quality of Jamaican spices.
“We are the regulator for the spices and some other commodities, including coffee, cocoa and aspects of coconut. Therefore the spices are a big thing for JACRA, and we would have been very happy to be a part of this; and with our colleagues assisting us in the research department, we know that after the project, then we are only geared to continue our endeavour,” he said.
The JaSPICE Project is being implemented over a five-year period, in collaboration with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Jamaica Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO), micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), and farmer-based organisations.
Mr. Bryan also highlighted the project’s importance in addressing challenges within the spice industry, particularly in improving the quality and output of key spices like ginger and pimento.
“Our suppliers and dealers are looking forward to us ensuring that good quality produce reaches their stocks; and so we are hoping that at the end of this project, not only will the research continue, but we will also see an improvement in the output and production,” he said.
Mr. Bryan added that JACRA is working to engage new and young players in the production chain, as well as to adopt innovative agricultural practices to accelerate the production of pimento trees.
“What we are promoting mainly through this project, [is] grafting technology where, within a year, you can have a pimento tree getting into production. It’s six months getting the seedling out of the nursery, doing the approach graph into a bearing tree and then handing them out to farmers to allow a shorter period into the production,” he noted.
Mr. Bryan said these innovations will reduce the amount of land space required, as well as other factors for production of these spices.
“This reduces the impact of persons planting trees and not knowing if they are productive until year seven, because you will be introducing to the farm only producing trees. [Also], you will be grafting these from trees that already are bearing good quality, so you will be increasing most of the spices within a short period of time,” he pointed out.
The success of the JaSPICE project is expected to attract additional support from other stakeholders, further bolstering Jamaica’s spice industry.
“Other donors will see us and realise that, here in Jamaica, we’re trying to increase the spice sector as best as possible. [This] will give us additional resources so that we can have, for example, more tissue culture and more shade houses that can produce clean planting material that would improve how we give support to our farmers,” Mr. Bryan said.
