A farming couple and the Barbados Agricultural Development and Marketing Corporation (BADMC) were locked in a row Wednesday over the fate of thousands of dollars worth of pawpaws that the Government’s crop buyer reportedly declared it no longer wants.
The husband and wife team of Alan and Tamera Mottley said they fear that the “thousands of pounds” of pawpaws, set to be ready for harvest in the coming days, will spoil because the BADMC has refused to buy the fruit from them.
Minister of Agriculture Indar Weir denied their allegations but said he was aware of their plight and was in the process of finding a solution.
A frustrated Tamera Mottley told Barbados TODAY her husband was enrolled in the BADMC’s FEED [The Farmers’ Empowerment and Enfranchisement Drive].
She explained that they had been informed that pawpaws would be included in Government’s care packages, which are to be delivered to the most vulnerable in society during the current two-week lockdown.
But in a surprise move, just as they were about to harvest the fruit, pawpaws were removed from the care package list, she said.
She told Barbados TODAY they were informed by the BADMC that it would not be buying the pawpaws from them.
The couple usually sells the majority of their produce to vendors, but with vending prohibited for the next two weeks they would be unable to get rid of their harvest, she added.
Mottley said: “We have a crop of pawpaws which are now at the peak of harvesting and I indicated the situation to the BADMC and I also went to the Minister of Agriculture about the situation because most of our crops go to vendors. I do vending as well, but with no vending allowed I reached out to supermarkets but obviously because of less traffic they are going to have with persons coming to the supermarket they are not going to accept more perishable items.
“[BADMC] are saying that they are not putting pawpaws on the list for the care packages because they are too expensive.”
She said the BADMC only purchased one box of pawpaws from them on Sunday.
“I have thousands of pounds in the ground and within the next two weeks they are all going to be spoilt,” she said.
“If [husband Alan] is farming at BADMC’s property, their lease programme, you are telling me they wouldn’t even consider that he has produce that has to be sold?”
Alan Mottley explained that it had taken eight months for the pawpaws to mature.
He said he used half of his one-acre plot to plant them.
Mottley said: “I took up basically half of my land to plant these pawpaws and the pawpaws took about eight months before I could even harvest the first one. You have to spray them every week, you have to give them water every week, you have to take care of them.”
Despite several attempts to sell his produce to supermarkets he had been unsuccessful, he said.
He had even lowered his price to the BADMC in an effort to get the pawpaws sold, he added.
But when asked about the situation, Weir said he had been in contact with the couple and was actively trying to remedy the situation. He said he had tried to get in contact with Mrs Mottley several times Wednesday without success.
Weir told Barbados TODAY: “I explained to the lady that we would get back to her once the process was put in place. I also said to her that I am waiting for the BADMC’s packhouse to take some of the produce from her. People want to get answers in their own time but there is a process.
“The supermarkets are open. She told me that she supplied to someone who supplies to the supermarkets. You know when the programme was announced it was announced that we would take excess supply. If all of her produce becomes excess supply it means that something is not accurate, because all of her produce cannot become excess supply and I am trying to assist by making sure we take her excess supply.”
“We have several options in place including storage,” Weir added. (randybennettt@barbadostoday.bb)
