Sea moss held the highlight for some stakeholders in Grenada over the previous two weeks because the Meals and Agriculture Group of the United Nations (FAO), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Lands, Forestry, Marine Sources and Cooperatives, labored with farmers on enhancing their practices in sea moss manufacturing.
Over 40 sea moss farmers, technicians and extension officers gathered to take part in a week-long coaching programme, delivered beneath a mission of FAO’s Technical Cooperation Programme on Selling Aggressive, Sustainable and Resilient Nationwide Worth Chain Growth in Grenada.
Through the opening ceremony for the coaching, Justin Rennie, Performing Chief Fisheries Officer, recognised the variety of ladies and youth contributors within the workshop and indicated that this “augurs effectively for the ocean moss subsector”. He indicated that “sea moss has been harvested within the wild for years and that this coaching workshop would assist to construct the capability of farmers in Grenada to provide sea moss beneath managed circumstances”.
The coaching programme sought to impart finest practices for enhancing sea moss manufacturing utilizing the coaching of trainers (ToT) method within the type of classroom and field-based instruction. From throughout the island, sea moss farmers, with various ranges of expertise and data of sea moss manufacturing, joined to change experiences, be taught extra about organising totally different manufacturing methods in shallow and deep water and good post-harvest practices.
Jane Maturine, Sea Moss Farmer and Proprietor of Sea Backyard Treasures in Petit Bacaye and Janet Whint, Sea Moss Farmer and Agroprocessor in Fort Jeudy, expressed their gratitude for the coaching. Maturine shared that it was refreshing to be within the discipline coaching alongside fellow sea moss farmers. She remarked that studying new post-harvesting methods to realize sea moss conversion ratios that may assist them to fulfill the business customary was the spotlight of the coaching for her. Maturine expressed enjoyment of now with the ability to apply these extra environment friendly post-harvest methods and concluded that the brand new data and abilities would assist her and different farmers to extend their yields of dry sea moss.
The coaching classes helped to strengthen the collaboration between sea moss farmers and elevated their capability to provide high quality sea moss. It additionally re-emphasized the significance of farmer-to-farmer exchanges and the necessity for continued dialogue between different stakeholders within the worth chain, reminiscent of these concerned in advertising and exporting.
The trainings had been carried out by FAO Sea Moss Manufacturing Professional, Thomas Nelson, with coordination help offered by FAO Agricultural Worth Chain Growth Specialist, Sharlene Prosser. Along with the trainings, the crew additionally carried out farm visits and consultations in Grenville Bay, Petit Bacaye and True Blue. Nelson additionally visited roughly ten present and potential websites to evaluate their suitability and make suggestions for sea moss manufacturing. A web site mapping and suitability evaluation report on these findings will likely be submitted to the Ministry within the coming weeks.
Commenting on the current coaching, Juan Cheaz Pelaez, FAO Commerce and Markets Officer for the Caribbean and Lead Technical Officer for the mission remarked that, “helping farmers in understanding the advantages of making use of good aquacultural practices in sea moss manufacturing is one facet of the total scope of the work in worth chain improvement that we’re doing in Grenada; but it is a crucial facet. Once we help farmers to do higher manufacturing, we’re selling higher companies and higher lives for folks and their communities. These efforts all come collectively to strengthen meals safety, enhance market alternatives and the export potential of sea moss, whereas selling nationwide manufacturing”.
This manufacturing coaching marks the continuation of efforts to strengthen your entire worth chain. Within the coming months, the FAO crew will proceed to help the Nationwide Sea Moss Worth Chain Committee within the implementation of a 5-year upgrading technique and motion plan. Below the plan, quick follow-up actions by FAO embody the event of a enterprise funding profile to help sea moss farmers in accessing credit score and finance services and rising market help for farmers by linking them to potential consumers.
