Q. After the recent Market Day at Mocha you advocated that farmers and agro processors be afforded a Market and processing a packaging facilities. Some may say that the scale of their operations may not, as yet, warrant that kind of investment. Can you comment on this?
A: For the last fifty five years we have been asking people to plant, to produce and to grow local. Farmers have produced and there is no market………. with the exception of rice, that is. Now farmers are reluctant to plant. The farmers in Mocha/Arcadia have the acreage. Perhaps a medium-sized market outlet may be appropriate. However, the farmers remain hesitant. During the first and second, Market Days some farmers were reluctant to participate. However, once farmers can see that markets are there production will increase.
