Agro-processing, packaging plant opens for Brazil farmers

GRANT support from the Digicel Foundation and Shell TT aided farmers of the Brazil Village Farmers Group in boosting production, allowing them to open an agro-processing plant in their community last week.

The 50-member group opened the agro-processing plant and packaging facility at Brazil Lome Trace, Brazil Village on February 21.

Assistance was provided via grant funding by Digicel Foundation and Shell TT’s Extraordinary Projects Impacting Communities (EPIC) programme, amounting to $100,000.

The group also used its own funds to partly finance the facility.

Speaking at the launch, Randell Patterson, president of Brazil Village Farmers Group, said, “We want farmers to be part of the national conversation and to help them improve their quality of life.”

The group was created to assist rural farmers in achieving a comfortable quality of life and to promote agriculture as a viable profession for youth in the community.

The new facility has been established to process locally-grown, fresh produce into value-added products by providing processing, packaging and marketing services to farmers unable to access these services.

Funding from EPIC was used to construct the building, a press release from the Digicel Foundation said, and to purchase necessary equipment and appliances, including a chiller, stainless steel tables and sinks, utensils, scales, PPE and Sealers.

Additionally, the group contributed $97,000 to finish construction and led a series of workshops and consultations with farmers.

Also speaking at last week’s opening, Guy Small, Digicel Foundation board member, said the EPIC programme was designed to empower organisations to mobilise partnerships and transform their community spaces. He said the group has done this with extraordinary success, adding the “calibre of management, accountability and transparency that this NGO partner has displayed is every funder’s dream.”

Farook Hosein, permanent secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, endorsed the initiative.

He said, “The Brazil Village Farmers Group has demonstrated the impact of unity and strategic planning to achieve sustainable growth and unlock new opportunities for our farmers.

“The formation of associations like yours is a cornerstone in our collective efforts to enhance the agricultural landscape of our nation.”

The Digicel Foundation launched EPIC in 2016 as a small grants initiative.

Through a partnership with Shell, the 2023-2024 EPIC programme offered ten community organisations an enhanced $100,000 grant to implement sustainable community initiatives concerning renewable energy, agriculture and the environment.