A farmer transports bananas out of the field at a small farm in Albion Mountain, St Mary. - File Photo
On Sunday, November 16, The Gleaner published an article, captioned 'Agriculture under arrest' written by Julian 'Jingles' Reynolds, that raised a number of issues concerning an unsuccessful application for a grant from the European Union Banana Support Programme.
The proposal, titled, 'Rural Diversification and Enterprise Development', was submitted by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) in response to a call for proposals, reference No. 2002/-1, for a grant for rural diversification and enterprise development in the traditional banana-growing communities of Jamaica.
The main issues raised by your contributor, Julian Reynolds, concerning the application referred to above, are:
The group of local entrepreneurs, with which he is associated, welcomed the call for grant proposals as a serious attempt to address rural poverty and underdevelopment in the communities of eastern Jamaica adversely affected by the significant decline in banana production
The Woodside Community Develop-ment Action Group from St Mary, despite its distinguished record as a successful community-based organisation, could neither by itself, nor collectively with the other groups named in the article, meet the capital requirements needed to access the grant. This being the case, they decided to engage the JAS as a sponsor.
Local communities
Norman McDonald (left), chairman of CANCO Limited, processors of the Linstead Market Jamaica Ackee brand, explaining aspects of the operation to Minister of Agriculture Dr Christopher Tufton (right). McDonald says that CANCO has received a J$9.2 million grant under the European Union Banana Support Programme, which is administered by Tufton's ministry.The funds will finance acquisition of plant equipment, expansion of the factory, marketing and staff training. Since 1996, the EUBSP has issued €48 million (J$4 billion) in financial and technical assistance to the Jamaican banana industry. - Contributed
In the article, Reynolds states: "To our dismay, what was clearly the most advanced production-driven application for the European Union (EU) grant was denied."
Reynolds, and the others named as having contributed to the article, question the intent and the methodology of the announced grant because, as the article states: "Often, we see foreign-based organisations continuing to receive these grants, but see very little real productive impact on the local communities, which are to benefit from these grants."
The European Union Banana Support Programme, the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) and the Government of Jamaica are challenged to present a document that addresses agricultural production and productivity as theirs does.
The group invested funds in research and preparation of the proposal and built up the expectations of hundreds of people, "only to be dismissed as if we were all being sold a 'ulloh', or as the Americans say 'a bag of goods'."
Competitiveness
The European Union Banana Support Programme is financed by the European Commission's Special Framework of Assistance for traditional Africa, Caribbean and Pacific (ACP) suppliers of bananas. This assistance is granted at the request of the ACP countries to allow for the implementation of programmes that are aimed at improving the competitiveness of the banana sector and to support diversification into other enterprises, both agricultural and non-agricultural, where improvements in competitiveness are not sustainable.
The main objective of the European Union Banana Support Programme (EUBSP), in Jamaica, is to maintain living standards of farmers, farm and port workers and their communities in the banana producing areas in the short term, and to improve their living standards in the long term.
In March 2008, RADA, through the EUBSP, launched an open international call for proposals for grants for rural diversification and enterprise development in the traditional banana-growing communities of Jamaica. This open call was published on five websites, both local and international, as well as advertised in both local and regional newspapers. The minimum and maximum size of the anticipated grants were €250,000 and €600,000, or J$26.2 million-J$63 million, respectively. The open call for proposals was published both locally and internationally, in accordance with European Union requirements for the publishing of grants of this anticipated size.
Organisations
It is very important to note that not only was this an open, international call, but applicants were required to meet the following eligibility requirements. Applicants had to be:
A legal entity.
Non-profit-making.
Organisations such as national and international non-governmental organisations, farmers' associations or registered groups, community-based organisations, public-sector operators, local authorities, international organisations and inter-governmental organisations, such as the United Nations.
Nationals of a member state of the European Union and the ACP countries, which include Jamaica. This obligation does not apply to international organisations.
Have direct responsibility for the preparation and management of the action with their partners, not acting as an intermediary and have at least three years' experience in the related field of actions being proposed.
Be able to demonstrate capacity to manage large-scale activity corresponding to the size of the project or programme for which a grant is requested and to contribute by way of co-financing.
Rural diversification
The specific objective of the open and international call for proposals for grants for rural diversification, however, was to create income and employment opportunities by promoting new economic agricultural and non-agricultural activities for farmers, farm and port workers and their communities, paying particular attention to elements of viability, sustainability and institutional capacity. It should also help to expand existing business enterprises, which have been proven to be sustainable and viable. The proposals considered were, therefore, not restricted to agricultural projects.
Reynold's article recognises that the Rural Diversification Programme of the European Union Banana Support Programme and the specific call for grant proposals provides an opportunity for addressing the increasing rural poverty and underdevelopment caused by the significant decline in banana production. We note the confidence that the group represented by Reynolds has in a proposal that addresses agricultural production and productivity. This is commendable.
The European Union Banana Support Programme received 28 applications for a total requested contribution of more than (J$1billion) in response to the call for proposal for grants for rural diversification and enterprise development. The total budget available for financing was €1,795,000, or J$188,336,785 at the euro exchange rate at the time of the call.
The call being open and international, there is no guarantee that any one proposal will be approved, which was clearly stated on the application form, as not only must the proposal meet the requirements, as outlined in the detailed guidelines for applications, posted on the websites and available from the offices of the European Union Banana Support Programme, but the number of grants approved is determined by the available budget for the call.
The evaluation of the proposals for each call is done by a carefully selected committee, chaired by the RADA and observed by representatives of the Delegation of the European Commission (EU) to Jamaica and the Planning Institute of Jamaica (PIOJ), which represents the national authorising officer for Jamaica.
The evaluation report on the proposals is approved by the PIOJ and the EC delegation before applicants recommended for grants are contacted.
Guidelines for applications
It should be noted that despite these checks and balances to ensure transparency, on being advised in writing of the reasons for the rejection of the application, the unsuccessful applicant can, if necessary, appeal to the rejection in accordance with the guidelines for applications. This procedure allows any applicant believing that he or she has been harmed by an error or irregularity during the award process, to directly petition the contracting authority directly. The contracting authority, in this case, is the PIOJ, which is obliged to respond in 90 days.
The Ministry of Agriculture, RADA, PIOJ and the EC Delegation are all working together to ensure that this very important programme will not only meet its objective of achieving sustainable development in all of the target communities, but also that the grants awarded result in the improved capacity and living standards of the primary beneficiaries of the programme, those who have been displaced as a result of the decline in banana production in the target parishes - the displaced farmers, farm workers and port workers.
The proposals that have been funded have been selected to make the best contribution possible to the objectives of the programme and have a positive impact on the target communities.
Marjorie A. Stair is overall coordinator of the European Union Banana Support Programme.