Lileith Hesty seeks to boost farmers’ knowledge with W&B Farm Store Expo

“Most of the times when I’m at the store,” she said, “persons don’t do farming, they farm, they don’t really know about farming”.

Her comments are in reference to the approach by persons getting involve into the business of agriculture but oftentimes fail at the onset because they lack knowledge on how to maximize production, and earnings.

It is a critical aspect of any successful business and even moreso for those with insufficient capital. Hesty has identified an obvious weakness in the agro sector, a longstanding Achilles heel that caused many to fall by the wayside.

In an effort to bridge this gap the businesswoman on Friday launched the inaugural W&B Farm Expo that seeks to educate farmers on practices in all areas of the sector.

“They don’t know about the products to use,” Hesty said of many farmers. “Some of them don’t know the time and the season to plant the seeds and so on.”

Several major farm brands were present at the expo and eager to share their expertise and products to the farming community.

“The main advantage of using our product is that you’ll get a cost effective product, a high quality product and also access to a sales agronomist who provides a lot of information in terms of your crop care and crop production as well,” said Horane Lawrence, Agri Depot’s sales agronomist for Manchester, Clarendon and St Catherine.

Andre Gordon, marketing development officer, H&L Agro boasts about their wide range of products and small equipment.

“We have herbicide that is specific to control weeds in different crops,” Gordon told Old Harbour News before adding they do store promotion, and offer technical advice and training for farmers.

Newport Fersan is currently promoting its booster line of products said Latesha James, tele-sales representative for zone two which covers St Catherine, St Ann and Clarendon.  Booster products “are packed with greater nutrients, cost efficient compared to other traditional blends,” informed James.

It is carefully designed and packaged with both large and small scaled farmers in mind.

“They can get 50lbs bags or 25lbs bags if they choose to,” added James. “We also have our representatives on call so if they need to talk to a tele-sales representative or agronomist they can.

“What we are trying to do is to get our farmers work with our precise nutrient management system. We have been promoting this system because what we understand is that sometimes farmers spend a little more than they shouldn’t.”

Farmers who work closely with the Newport Fersan team are afforded the opportunity of having a soil test done, James expalined from which a special programme is crafted “that tell them exactly what the soil requires so they only buy what they need”.

And not only that too, all agro brands now offer virtual assistance to their constituents or any neophyte just getting into the business. These are accessible on all major platforms like their websites, social media platforms and whatsapp.

One of the largest importers of quality seeds is St Jago Farm Supplies based in Spanish Town. Its seeds are sold with other specific products and according to Louis Campbell this will “assist the seeds breaking at dormancy”.

“So in most cases you will get a desirable germination rate,” added Campbell, who is a technical sale representative.  “We also have products that take you through the life of the plant.”

Hesty is already working on plans to stage the next exposition in September, reiterating the mantra that Jamaicans should plant want they eat and eat what they grow.

“We’ll becoming bigger and better and more persons on board,” she said. “Even today what I picked up is that a lot of farmers could do better but they don’t have the help.”

So if you are thinking about getting into farming but don’t know how or where to start, then W&B Farm Store is the perfect place to go.