The essence gets to you

Downtown in Kingston, Jamaica, in a bustling little area of new small businesses, stand two symbols of enterprises blowing new life into agricultural production. One is the LMH publishing company whose recent books on herbs, reviewed in this issue, have revived local farmers interest. A few doors away, unbeknownst to the other, is Starfish Oils, a rising producer of essential oils and soaps made from herbs. For these entrepreneurs, herbs can do no wrong. The attractions of the herbal market were confirmed in early December 2002, over on the other side of the island, at the Caribbean Herbs Business Forum in Montego Bay. About 150 delegates converged for a packed programme of exchanges, presentations and field trips. As with earlier moots in South Africa in 2000 and in Vanuatu in February 2002, the pace was brisk and business-like. No wonder. The need for crop and product diversification is critical for the region, for years dependent on commodity crops such as sugar cane and banana. The potential of its biodiversity is clear not only to producers, but also to the aromatics trade richly represented from North America and Europe. The market is literally within a hand s reach for the grabbing, but it has to be a well-organised hand. Some exceptionally clear recommendations emerged on training, branding and positioning, and the certification of producers and products, respectful of traditional knowledge and keenly aware of the needs of processors and importers. The new Caribbean Herbs Business Association (CHBA), proposed at the forum, will surely help them in their conquests, complementing the Caribbean Association of Researchers and Herbal Practitioners (CARAPA) launched in 1998. Among the follow-up actions is the Out of the Caribbean herb exhibit, to be launched in the UK in April 2003, and based on 2002 s Out of Africa exhibit (see Spore 99). The forum was organised by the Centre for the Development of Enterprise (CDE), the Commonwealth Secretariat, CTA and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), together with the Jamaican Promotions Corporation (JAMPRO). Interim Executive Secretariat, Caribbean Herbs Business Association, c/o Aaron Parke/ Judith Ann Francis IICA T&T Office, PO Box 1318, Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago Fax: +1 868 628 4562 Email: iicatt@iicacarc.org See also: www.caribbeanherbs.net

Bibliographic Details

Main Author:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation
Format:	News Item biblioteca
Language:	English
Published:	Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation 2003
Online Access:	https://hdl.handle.net/10568/47824 https://hdl.handle.net/10568/99607
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