Manchester man supports local food packaging

Paul H. Williams, Gleaner Writer

FROM A little room in the community centre at Walderston, Manchester, Raymond Robinson operates a processing and packaging business. The man, who is a jack of many trades, is principally a farmer who believes not only in selling his fresh produce; he is into packaging and storing for future use.

"Farming cannot be successful if you don't have processing and storage," he declared as he bemoaned the notion that Jamaican farmers "just draw straight from the farm to the kitchen". As such, when there is a glut, food is wasted because there is no tradition of packaging and storage. "When the glut is over, the price goes up and you make more money." This, he said, is the philosophy of most farmers.

As a youngster, Robinson saw his mother making banana flour for domestic use, and he is now producing it commercially. Making banana flour is high on the list of things he does. And once per week, he peels several banana fingers, cuts them up into bits, and dries them in the sun for three days.

Long shelf life

After the pieces are properly dehydrated, they are crushed with a small hand-operated grinder. The fine or rough banana flour is then sealed in plastic bags. The product has a long shelf life, he said, if dried properly, and should be an excellent substitute in periods of banana shortage. He grows his own bananas but also buys from small farmers in the area.

Robinson also makes sweet potato flour, which he intends to be as popular as the banana flour. His Cool Valley Processors line of products also includes the peanuts he cultivates, coconut drops, small red peas, and corn snack (spiced parched corn, known locally as asham). However, because of the very small scale on which he operates, Robinson cannot meet the demand for the banana flour, which older people tend to like.

Robinson operates on his own, getting assistance from a young woman from time to time. He wants assistance but said it was important to start on his own. "What happens, I was trying to be a little bit independent, to set the base for myself. In my opinion, it is not good to have someone start with you because when a man pull yuh foot, yuh stumble. I believe you should set a foundation for yourself first and make a first step," he told The Gleaner.

But having said that, he would love to get a loan to expand his operations, which he believes has great potential. A bigger factory space is desirable, likewise a bigger crusher and plastic sealer. This expansion would allow him to provide employment, and to buy fresh products from other farmers.

And it is not just about farming, which Robinson prefers to masonry; it's also about providing "natural, nutritious stuff". He declares: "Farming is the best. People must come back to natural food."