CLAREMONT, St. Ann:
COFFEE FARMERS have been promised an advance interim payment to allow them to fund inputs they had not received.
This assurance came from Dr. Cecil Goodrich, Director General of the Coffee Industry Board Regulatory Division, at a meeting with coffee representatives in Eastern St. Ann region at Faith Tabernacle Church in Claremont on Friday, July 21.
Dr. Goodrich said that it would cost $10.5 million for the spraying programme this year if the previous format was continued with, but he said that only larger farmers are taking care of their spraying.
He noted that the Coffee Industry Board would equip farmers as far as possible to do the minimum spraying required but it is the responsibility of the farmer during the coming crop to ensure that spraying takes place.
He promised an integrated pest management programme to prevent farmers from having to strip at the end of the crop and enable the farmer to have more money. He warned "if this is not done, it will cause untold damage and you will come back here and quarrel more." He said the level of berry-borer infestation or damage was between 10.9 per cent and 11 per cent in the Blue Mountain area and the board would like to see cut to 5.4 per cent.
The Director General it irked some of the farmers when he told them there was a tendency to blame everybody but themselves, when the crop was not sprayed. He disclosed that Trout Hall would cease operating as a pulpery and operate as a buying station as it was no longer viable.
Dealing with quality, he said "there has been a quality problem at factory and farm level, we will deal with the factory level, you must deal with farm level to get optimum price. You don't like the message, I am sorry, what happen to you, happens to me in my private capacity. Bad manners get you no where."
Coffee comes stale
A farmer remarked from the back of the audience "go and tell them that $400 a box can't work."
Dr. Goodrich hit back: "everybody talk about price, but don't talk about how it is arrived at. When you see coffee at Bog Walk it is black and green. The CIB is paying back $3 more per box, than what it receives."
This did not go down well with Mrs. Yvonne Clarke, a farmer from Kingston who farms in Blackstonedge in St. Ann. She said "coffee comes to Bog Walk stale because trucks don't collect it, don't talk down to farmers, if you come to consult, consult."
Dr. Goodrich snapped back: "why do you believe trucks should collect the coffee, the quality is bad; 38 per cent of fruit of exportable quality is collected and that is insufficient."
Fred O'Meally, a board member and President of the All Island Association, attempted to defend Dr. Goodrich but Mrs. Clarke countered "don't talk about problems. Before you allow your director to come and abuse us, why don't you talk to him. I didn't come here for the politicking."
With farmers calling out "we want to hear about price" and not getting any suitable answers from Dr. Goodrich, by the time the final speaker from the CIB rose to make his presentation, the hall was almost empty as most of the 100 farmers present left the room.
