Some hotels and restaurants are continuing to reap success – and farmers are smiling all the way to the bank – under a farm project financed by the Inter-American Development Bank’s Multilateral Investment Fund.
The $1.4 million project, which started in 2015, links micro and small business farmers to key hotel and restaurans.
Under the project farmers supply the packhouse with produce and are paid under a formal purchasing arrangement. A traceability framework has also been established in order to identify where the products were produced and by which farmer.
Between June 1 and August 31, members of the project execution unit have been able to achieve a number of objectives, said Chief Executive Officer of the Barbados Hotel and Tourism Association (BHTA) Senator Rudy Grant.
But the tourism executive said he wanted to see more hotel and restaurant operators signing up.
“We would certainly like to see this project enhanced,” Grant told the BHTA’s third quarterly meeting as he delivered his report.
“We have 20 hotel and restaurants that have already given a commitment to participate. We want to increase that number,” he said.