Minister’s Statement.
As part of the Ministry’s on-going thrust to modernize the sector through the application of technology, we have developed the Jamaica Agricultural Marketing Information System (JAMIS), with funding and technical support from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)-funded JA Farms Project, and CDS Development Solutions - a nonprofit, nongovernmental organization. The international software architecture development company, App Venture also provided assistance in the specialized programming of hardware associated with the project.
Objective of JAMIS
The primary function of JAMIS is to collect, compile and disseminate agricultural pricing data at all levels of the market chain, which will aid producers, purchasers, consumers and distributors in the sale and purchase of agricultural produce - nationally and internationally.
The Mission of JAMIS is to supply to the agricultural sector, accurate marketing information, reflecting current price data, so as to promote fair marketing and enhance competition. This data will assist the sector by providing the tools to determine where and when to buy and sell produce. It will also assist framers to plan their production and promote a transparent marketplace, by putting buyers and sellers on a more equal bargaining basis. While this concept has been discussed in the agricultural sector for over a decade, the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Marketing team is the first to develop a fully functional price collection system
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available to the public. (The Ministry’s Marketing team comprises the Data Bank & Evaluation and Marketing & Credit Divisions, as well as RADA’s Marketing Unit).
JAMIS has been a work-in progress since the beginning of this year – starting with a paper-based price collection and reporting system that gathered and reported prices at the three main price points: the farmgate; the municipal markets; and the retail trade. This was the first comprehensive weekly price reporting mechanism to address the specific needs of the Jamaican marketplace.
The System Has Been Well Received
This system, which provides vital pricing data not only to key market segments as well as to consumers, has already served to reduce the disparity in prices between what is paid to the producers and the final price to the consumer. Purchasing Managers are currently receiving weekly data to assist them in their procurement process, through price reports generated by JAMIS’ paper-based system and distributed by email from the MOAF.
Mailing List Now Stands at Approximately 5,000
In the first three months of its operation, a mailing list of some 2,000 sector-related and other interest groups was developed to whom the weekly prices were sent by email. Presently, that mailing list now stands at approximately 5,000.
Bi-Weekly Publication
In addition, a partnership was developed with the Ministry of Industry & Commerce’s Consumer Affairs Commission for the bi-monthly publication of these prices in the local newspapers, to help farmers and consumers to access real-time produce prices.
Today we are here to launch a new dimension in JAMIS – its web-based system, which has been developed for more efficient collection and dissemination of the pricing data. This will allow for real-time collection and reporting of these data. The
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system will also provide an interface to accommodate the use of technology in the field to facilitate this process. JAMIS is now available to the public online through its Website www.ja-mis.com, as the first segment of a multiphased approach to disseminating information throughout the sector.
Notice Boards in Municipal Markets and RADA Parish Offices
JAMIS will also establish notice boards in the main municipal markets to post weekly prices for consumers, farmers, higglers and middlemen to access; and prices will be posted at RADA Parish offices islandwide. Additionally, text messaging services detailing pricing data, will soon be made available to stakeholders to allow them to make strategic ‘buying’ and ‘selling’ decisions and to increase transparency in the marketplace.
Today’s launch, therefore, represents another milestone in our drive to modernize the sector and to promote an information-based, market-driven approach, leading to a more interactive relationship between markets and production centers. This will allow our farmers to grow what the consumers require, based on established end-user demand, which will better enable them to sell what they produce.
Acknowledgement of USAID
Support
I should stress here, that this milestone would not have been achieved without the support of the United States Agency for International Development, through the JA Farms Project, which provided financial and technical assistance, as well as hardware for the development of the System. It is, therefore, appropriate to express our thanks, not only for this intervention, but for the continued support provided by USAID to the agricultural sector over the years – most recently, for its invaluable assistance in developing a roadmap for revitalizing the Cocoa sub-sector and for responding to our call for disaster relief following Tropical Storm Gustav.
New Project We also wish to express our appreciation to USAID for the additional support we will be receiving to strengthen the capability of the Marketing Division, under a project soon to come on stream – Marketing and Agriculture for Jamaica – Improved Competitiveness, the major components of which include:
- building the Marketing team’s capacity to collect, analyze and disseminate production & marketing information;
- strengthening production, processing & marketing linkages throughout the agricultural value-chain; and
- transforming farmers’ groups into viable entities.
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