JACRA to Facilitate Increase in Regulated Agricultural Commodities

• The Jamaica Agricultural Commodities Regulatory Authority (JACRA) will be seeking to facilitate an increase in the production of regulated agricultural commodities (RACs) by at least 20% in the 2024/25 fiscal year, according to the Jamaica Public Bodies Estimates of Revenues and Expenditure for FY 2024/25.
• The increased production is expected to fill supply gaps in the hospitality, food service and agro-processing industries.
• JACRA also aims to facilitate an increase in support systems for market access to regional and international markets. “This is expected to result in a 10% increase in the number of farmers who have access to these markets,” the document stated. The Authority will achieve these objectives by facilitating capacity-building activities for farmers, training and encouraging linkages between farmers and agro-processors.
• The Authority will also be promoting the utilisation of climate-smart technologies by Jamaican farmers, fishers, fish farmers, miners and entrepreneurs in the agriculture and minerals sector.
• JACRA was established for the development, regulation, promotion and standardisation of the agricultural commodities industry and for connected matters.
• Notably, given forecasts that the next 5 years are expected to bring the highest temperatures on record along with the vulnerability of the country’s agricultural production, and by extension inflation, to drought and climate change, the promotion of climate-smart agricultural practices by the authority is a step in the right direction.

(Sources: JIS and NCBCM Research)