JBS promotes certification

BUREAU OF Standards Jamaica (BSJ) executive, Stephen Farquharson, has highlighted the importance of a valid certification programme in enhancing the competitiveness of local agricultural produce.

"Certification is a feature of every growing economy in the world. People want to know, to have confidence in what they consume, whether it be food or any other product," he said recently at the unveiling of the Jamaica Agricultural Society's (JAS) Preferred Retail Outlet for farmers under the Certification of Produce Programme. "People want to be assured that when they pick a product, they can have confidence in it, and they don't have the time to do the background check themselves."

For this reason, consumers depend on competent agencies to ensure they get what they need, and in Jamaica the Bureau of Standards, where Farquharson is manager - standards, development and certification, is the competent and legal authority. With its cadre of competently qualified staff and the requisite state-of-the-art equipment, the bureau has been conducting the necessary due diligence and certifying farmers. This it has been doing in collaboration with the JAS, Rural Agricultural Development Authority and other agencies.

The challenge now, he said, is to get consumers to have confidence in the Jamaican product. "Confidence leads to competitiveness, and competitiveness means that when you put your products on the shelf here in Jamaica or overseas, it is able to bring consumers to your produce," he told the gathering at Michi's Super Centre, located off Washington Boulevard in St Andrew. Michi is the first designated Preferred Retail Outlet under the JAS/BSJ collaboration, which sees such produce being given a Certified Agricultural Produce seal of approval.

However, in order to build on this competitiveness, stakeholders in the agricultural sector must recognise the importance of moving beyond being just primary producers. "When the farmers have produced their food, we want to see the value added coming into play. But they cannot buy your pepper or oranges if they aren't assured of quality produce, consistent delivery and timely delivery of those products, even the presentation of it."

This is especially important, Farquharson warned, in light of the strong competition not only in the international marketplace but also from foreign-produced goods, right here in Jamaica.

"It is not only when you export that you are competing with foreign products. You know that on our shelves today carrots, onions and all kinds of things are competing with food right here. Surprisingly, in Jamaica, land of wood and water, we're competing with water on our own shelves," he lamented.

Meanwhile, Senator Norman Grant, JAS vice-president, used the occasion to call for foreign produce coming into Jamaica to be subject to the same rigourous standards as Jamaican exports, some of which put our producers at a distinct disadvantage. Government, he said, should insist that they meet the same standards required of Jamaican products entering the United States, Europe or Asia.