(Jamaica Observer) BETHEL TOWN, Westmoreland — Sorrel farmers in Westmoreland will soon have a facility for the processing of value-added products made from the sorrel plant.
Ground was broken Tuesday for the new sorrel factory, which will be managed by the Bethel Town Agricultural Cooperative. The project, being implemented by the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF), following funding by the World Bank, through the Rural Economic Development Initiative (REDI).
“The desire of the cooperative was to increase the earnings possible from sorrel cultivation while providing schools within the area with a nutritious locally made alternative juice,” said Stephannie Hutchinson-Ffrench, project manager for REDI.
The group, she said, is expected to realise a 400 per cent increase in revenue from having the value-added products from the processing facility for which funding has been approved.
Meanwhile, the Bethel Town cooperative chairman, Ian Hill, said the group would be seeking a larger market for their products as well as better returns, overall.
“Famers in Westmoreland currently sell mainly to higglers who sell in municipal markets and are not able to attract premium prices due to the nature of their market,” he said. This, he added, has limited their earning potential.
The project idea fits within the drive by the Ministry of Agriculture ‘Eat what you Grow and Grow what you Eat’ campaign as well as the Ministry of Education’s drive for nutritious locally-grown alternatives to imported concentrate.
The approved project will see the construction of a 204 square-metre agro-processing facility which conforms to food safety standard and includes a production area, bathrooms, dry storage area, cold storage area, a sorting area and an office.
Products under consideration are bag drinks, wine, jams/jelly, chutneys and sorrel-flavoured treats.
Total project cost is J$24,829,240 with the amount requested from JSIF being J$19,321,040 and community contribution in kind being J$4,310,000.
