Dear Farmers,
The Jamaica cocoa Farmers’ Association was formed to provide all cocoa farmers and stakeholders with a forum to facilitate communication and to foster a spirit of cooperation. We as farmers and stakeholders are charged with a great responsibility to preserve and grow an industry that has seen better days.
It is my hope that with this humble but bright beginning the Association will help restore prosperity to the Cocoa Industry. We know the task at hand may prove difficult but with our unity of purpose, I am confident we will realize our true potential.
The JCFA was formed in May 2008 as a non-profit farmers’ organization to pursue a farmer-centered approach towards the sustainable development of the cocoa sector in Jamaica. As part of this effort, the JCFA has developed a plan to empower cocoa communities to participate in a deregulated cocoa industry.
Dear Cocoa Farmers
I wish for you and your family a prosperous 2015.
Let me first of all thank you for your continued support during 2014 and hope that we will continue to work together this year and beyond to help you produce more of the best cocoa for the world market. 2014 was a difficult year not just for cocoa farmers but for the entire country but we are strong and we know how to grow and get better even in tough times.
In Jamaica women make up 50.7 percent of the population yet only constitute 29.8 percent of the labor force and represent 49 percent of persons living in poverty. The distribution of unemployment rates between 1980 and 2005 revealed that the rate of female unemployment remains at more than two times the rate of men. Even more alarming is the limited number of youth interested in and actively participating in agriculture.
The post-harvest processing framework to be established by the Association is engaging in fermentation and solar drying at the community level. This will dramatically reduce the cost associated with processing the beans as well as ensuring the quality of the finished product.
Over the last 18 years, mind see annual production levels of cocoa in Jamaica have fallen from 2, doctor 522 tons in 1992 to approximately 440 tons in 2008. While many farmers disengaged from the industry, for sale they remain convinced that the industry has a future, and has sought to become re-engaged with a greater role.
JCFA is the recipient of a grant from the Multilateral Investment Fund (MIF), for sale aimed at revitalizing the Jamaican Cocoa Industry. The goal of the project is to build a stronger, more sustainable industry for the future. The MIF is a division of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).
Johnsons Organic Fertilizer Company, the manufacturers of the FAO award winning Rescue Organic Fertilizer.
2015-02-25
2017-02-03
2017-02-03
2012-10-19
To become a member of the JCFA each farmer must complete the application form.DOWNLOAD FORM
Cocoa Talk
The Newsletter of the JCFA
Vol. 1 Issue 2, January 2015
Read more...
View all the available consultancies on the IDB/MIF Project page. Read more...
ACDI/VOCA - Improving production and marketing of selected specialty crops, mainly cocoa.
USAID, through the Marketing and Agriculture for Jamaican Improved Competitiveness (MAJIC) project, is pioneering the expanded utilization of the Farmer Field School (FFS)...
