Paul knocks farm market
FARMERS MARKETS have come in for a knock by chief executive officer of the Barbados Agricultural Society, James Paul.
“These things sound nice, but we also have to be prepared to put in the work to support them. We need to further increase agricultural production and recognise there is going to be a cost,” he said
Paul, speaking to the media on Thursday after the launch of a new programme at JB’s Super Centre, Sargeant’s Village, Christ Church, said another reason they were not doing well was because of a lack of produce to actually sell.
“It’s okay to have a farmers market every Saturday and, yes, the first Saturday you might have people coming, but what happens the next Saturday? It has to be a consistent process,” he said.
Paul said it was necessary for farmers to be included in the distribution system for the markets or else they would feel no obligation to support it.
“Right now, we have farmers who grow crops specifically for Agrofest. As you develop farmers markets and you hold them on a quarterly or weekly basis, you must have people growing specifically for that.
“There are also established distribution channels which people have. People want to continue to supply the traditional markets, so it means you have to have a general increase in agricultural production so we have to be very practical and clinical when we talk about these things,” he said. (CA) (Nation News)