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Home | Female Coffee Farmers to Benefit from $15-Million Support Project
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green (left), shares a photo opportunity with coffee farmers, Miriam McDonald (centre) and Bernice Barrett, while holding one of the professional-grade chainsaws at the handover of power equipment to farmers affected by Hurricane Melissa, at the Jamaica Commodities Regulation Authority (JACRA), 1 Willie Henry Drive, off Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, on January 21. The equipment was provided through a United Nations Industrial Development Organization (UNIDO) project, funded by the Government of Japan.
The Jamaica Commodities Regulation Authority (JACRA) will be embarking on a $15-million Women in Coffee Support Project to provide targeted assistance to female coffee farmers to boost productivity, strengthen participation in the sector, and support entrepreneurship.
This was stated by Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, during the handover of farm rehabilitation equipment (chainsaws), at JACRA, 1 Willie Henry Drive, off Marcus Garvey Drive in Kingston, on January 21.
He said the initiative will address the unique challenges faced by women in coffee farming.
“We’re going to be providing them with additional training, inputs, and tools,” Minister Green said.
He highlighted that women constitute a significant portion of Jamaica’s coffee farmers and often face labour constraints that limit productivity.
“When I go out into the communities, the ladies, especially, complain of the labour issues that they have,” the Minister said.
Mr. Green noted that access to equipment is a recurring concern raised by female farmers.
“But every time they complain, they say, ‘Minister, just give us the equipment, we will get it done ourselves’,” he said.
The Minister also cited the broader community benefits of supporting women farmers.
“One of the things that we find, where we support women through these projects, they reinvest the money in the agricultural sector… and they really find a way to make it stretch to ensure that their families are taken care of,” he said.
The project will complement JACRA’s ongoing climate-resilient extension services, including guidance on intercropping, to allow farmers to grow cash crops alongside coffee, generating income while maintaining long-term production.
Mr. Green said that work is also under way to develop coffee varieties that maintain Jamaica’s renowned Blue Mountain taste profile, while offering greater resilience to climate change, pests and diseases.
“We are working on some varieties that align with our taste profile… that gives you a tree that is more resilient to the new climate and to pests and diseases,” Minister Green said, adding that the programme is expected to be completed by 2027.
The $15-million Women in Coffee Support Project is part of the Government’s wider efforts to enhance resilience, promote gender inclusion, and secure the long-term sustainability of Jamaica’s coffee sector.
