SAC Project Benefits Over 10,000 Jamaican Farmers

More than 10,000 Jamaican farmers, including more than 3,000 young people, directly benefited from the Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) Project, which successfully concluded its five-year implementation period in March 2026.

Funded by Global Affairs Canada and implemented by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC), the initiative was launched in April 2021 with a clear mandate: to enhance the productivity and profitability of smallholder farmers across Jamaica.

By leveraging an inclusive market systems approach, WUSC worked closely with government ministries, public-sector agencies, and private-sector partners to address the real-world challenges faced by farmers.

As the project concluded, stakeholders gathered at a Close-out Ceremony held on Wednesday (July 15) at the Terra Nova All-Suite Hotel in St. Andrew to celebrate its remarkable achievements, with many of its key performance targets significantly surpassing original projections.

Speaking during the ceremony, held under the theme ‘Rooted in Resilience, Growing Together’, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Garnett Edmondson, said the programme reinforced the agency’s critical role as Jamaica’s agricultural extension service.

“It has reinforced… the institution’s responsibility for transforming agricultural development across the length and breadth of Jamaica, impacting every farmer that comes in contact with the Rural Agricultural Development Authority,” he stated.

The CEO noted that, through the partnership with WUSC, support was provided to a wide cross-section of farmers across the island.

In addition, more than 100 RADA extension and technical officers received specialised training in areas such as gender-responsive extension services, youth engagement, livestock management, climate-smart agriculture, and farmer education.

“This investment has not only benefited the officers who receive training but has multiplied across farming communities throughout RADA’s extension network,” Mr. Edmonson stated.

He noted that one of the standout achievements of the WUSC/RADA partnership was the implementation of the Farmer Field School approach, which helped expand the knowledge of more than 6,000 farmers.

Farmers received training in climate-resilient production practices, entrepreneurship, business management, leadership, and gender equality.

Additionally, the programme identified and supported five key impact areas designed to benefit farmers. These included herbs and spices, with a focus on hot pepper, ginger, and turmeric; small ruminant production; roots and tubers, including yam, sweet potato, and dasheen; climate-resilient agriculture; and agribusiness development and entrepreneurship.

WUSC Country Coordinator, Nelsa English-Johnson, noted that the project has played a transformative role in Jamaica’s agricultural sector and is expected to continue to positively influence the industry long after the initiative’s conclusion.

“Now this ceremony isn’t about project completion. It’s about the infrastructure we built together that will serve Jamaica’s farmers [among others] for decades to come…. farmers who took risks and showed results, government partners who embedded new approaches into their systems, privat- sector partners who saw agriculture as a development opportunity, and international partners who believed in this vision,” she said.

Mrs. English-Johnson noted that throughout the life of the programme, many small farmers were able to expand their operations, highlighting that some beneficiaries progressed to become agri-processors, producing value-added products such as jams, sauces, and jellies.

She also expressed gratitude to the programme’s many partners, including RADA, the Jamaica 4-H Clubs, Hi-Pro, Baruch Distributors Limited, and Nutramix, among others.