Pablo Jenkins, project donor representative from the Standards and Trade Development Facility (STDF), highlighted that farmers are at the heart of advancing the hot pepper industry of Jamaica.

The three-year project aims to improve compliance with food safety and plant health requirements along the hot pepper value chain to increase production and export to international markets. “The STDF is a global partnership that helps developing countries improve their food safety and animal and plant health capacity in order to meet international sanitary and private sanitary requirements,” Jenkins said.

By enabling countries to meet STDF requirements, international trade of agricultural products such as hot peppers can become a crucial driver for development, fostering economic growth and improving livelihoods of value chain actors, Jenkins added.

He highlighted that supporting this kind of development is at the core of STDF’s mission. “In September 2020 the Bureau of Standards approached the STDF with an idea and draft project proposal to address capacity building needs in the hot pepper supply chain, and we worked together over the course of several months to refine the proposal, and it was eventually submitted and approved in June 2021,” Jenkins added.

However, he noted that the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) was chosen as the implementing agency, and STDF provided a little over US $995,000 for this project. “In general, SDTF aims to fund initiatives that are innovative and collaborative, and they can be upscaled if the approach is deemed effective. Now just to let you know, we only fund about six projects a year, so we’re quite selective. So this was a very good project, and we were very interested in funding,” he added.

Additionally, a needs assessment was conducted, capturing the resource needs and recommendations for each stakeholder group. Therefore, during the handing over ceremony on Monday (April 28), farmers received high-quality magnifying glasses, respirators, sticky traps and measuring cups to assist in crop production. “I’m eager to hear over the course of the next few days while I’ll be here, you know, from the various partners how we can sustain the results obtained going forward and how we can replicate some of these successful approaches in other countries across the region.

“I’d like to thank the various partners who have invested their time, energy, and resources into this project. Your collaboration, adaptability, and commitment have helped the project stay agile and deliver meaningful results, and I know there were some challenges along the way, including natural disasters and the COVID pandemic. The STDF is proud to have been part of this innovative and collaborative initiative, and we look forward to hearing more about the actions taken to build on and sustain the achievements made,” Jenkins added.

The project is implemented by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) and the Government of Jamaica through the Bureau of Standards in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, and funding is provided by the STDF.