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Agro-processors are being encouraged to convert production waste into new products and revenue streams.
The call comes from Manager of the Technical Services Unit at the Jamaica Business Development Corporation (JBDC), Colin Porter, who says significant value can be recovered from agricultural by-products that are often discarded.
Speaking during one of the JBDC’s ‘Virtual Biz Zone’ webinars, held recently under the theme, ‘Agile Resilience and Trade Strategies to Sustain Productivity in Disruption’, Mr. Porter urged agro-processors to consider waste not as an end product, but as a potential input for additional business opportunities.
“It is said that in countries such as Jamaica, we may lose up to 40 per cent of crops to waste, and I found it to be a jarring figure,” Mr. Porter expressed, noting that agro-processors could increase earnings by developing secondary products from materials left over from primary production.
He noted, for example, that “fruit peels, pulp and seeds could potentially be converted into compost, pectin extracts or livestock feed, while crops such as sorrel, pepper, fruits, herbs and spices can be processed into purees, concentrates, powders, pepper mash and dehydrated ingredients.”
Mr. Porter added that “greater attention must be paid to preservation, processing capacity and value-added production, as produce can be lost because of market gluts, inadequate storage, limited processing capacity and unsuitable preservation methods.”
These losses represent missed income for farmers, agro-processors and other businesses across the agricultural value chain.
Against this background, he stressed that while waste conversion should be viewed as a viable business opportunity, entrepreneurs must assess conversion costs, equipment requirements, product safety, regulatory standards and the availability of potential buyers before investing.
Mr. Porter said this approach could “support a more circular production system, in which farmers supply crops to agro-processors, finished products are produced for consumers, and remaining organic material is repurposed to support further agricultural production.”
Source: JIS
