Jamaican Minister of Tourism, Hon. Edmund Bartlett, has announced that transactions on the Agri-Linkages Exchange (ALEX) platform have generated $1 billion in sales by small farmers.
This as he also outlined that tourism loan disbursements through the National Export-Import (EXIM) Bank have also surpassed $1 billion for 2023. Commending the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF) on the strides being made, the tourism minister underscored the increased impact of the tourism value chain on Jamaican small businesses as a significant outcome.
In expressing his delight, Minister Bartlett said: "We're very proud to share that the mid-year review of tourism’s performance indicates that we have reached the billion-dollar mark with market transactions on the ALEX platform.
“These are small farmers with 3-acre and 5-acre lots as well as backyard farming selling to local hotels and restaurants. So, we are excited about what is happening there in terms of the Jamaican tourism dollar penetrating to the small and medium tourism enterprises."
Minister Bartlett made the announcement during the Ministry of Tourism’s annual Strategic Planning Retreat, held at the Montego Bay Convention Centre from October 25-26, 2023. The ALEX platform, a collaborative initiative between the TEF, a public body of the Ministry of Tourism, and the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), has revolutionised the interaction between hoteliers and farmers.
The tourism minister noted that the platform has significantly improved the access small farmers have to procurement arrangements at hotels and restaurants throughout Jamaica, thereby enhancing the local agricultural landscape. Minister Bartlett also added that: "Another signal of our strong performance is that we have reached the billion-dollar mark for disbursements for the year so far from EXIM Bank.
“When we add that to what has been disbursed since the programme’s origin, we have now disbursed over $2 billion to small and medium tourism enterprises across Jamaica. Four hundred and thirty-nine small companies have benefited from this programme."
The Small and Medium Tourism Enterprises (SMTE) loan facility, managed by the TEF and facilitated through the EXIM Bank, plays a pivotal role in enhancing the resilience and capacity of SMTEs in the tourism sector. This initiative has empowered business operators with access to financing of up to $25 million at an attractive interest rate of 4.5 per cent for five years.
Meanwhile, Minister Bartlett expressed optimism that as the sector continues to recover the tourism value chain will significantly impact more SMTEs. “This month of October is the best October in the history of Jamaica,” he said.
“We are now closing in on 200,000 visitors in the month of October and that is unprecedented as October is usually one of our slowest months. September and October is when hotels would usually close off and people would go on leave and we would do refurbishing.
“This September and October, no such thing, the hotels have been active and the jobs are still there and strong, and earnings for the ordinary Jamaican have been strong as well."
