Farming communities, vendors urged to form cooperatives

A call is being made for members of fishing communities, farming districts and food vendors across Barbados to come together and form cooperatives.

Co-chairman of the Barbados International Cooperative Committee Algernon Johnson made the call on Friday at a news conference held in the Baobab Tower, Warrens, St Michael.

“I think we should start to grow cooperatives more in different sectors, for example, the fishery sector,” he said. 

“If they had cooperatives, they would be in a better place when things happened last year. A time [ago] I think they had some funds for fishing coops but they had none in Barbados; so if there were cooperatives in fisheries they would be helped.

“They need to come together and try to form cooperatives because there are about seven locations in Barbados that do fishing — Conset Bay, Skeetes Bay, Oistins, Bridgetown, Paynes Bay, Weston and Speightstown,” he added.

Johnson said efforts were made to help these communities organise in the past but they were unsuccessful.

“Some of the department’s people went out to some of these fishers already, but sad to say we don’t want to come together. We like to do it individually and then we fall down all the time. I know this with farmers because I’m heavily involved … So if the fishermen and even the people that sell food, the vendors, if they come together and form a cooperative, they will get things at wholesale, more volume, and get better prices and they all will be able to sell their food at cheaper prices which will help the country.”

During the conference, officials underscored the importance of the cooperative movement and highlighted the need for more Barbadians to get organised.

There are approximately 180 000 people with ties to cooperatives in Barbados.

“Traditional business models often fail to deliver the financial and economic benefits that cooperatives can provide,” said chairman Oriel Doyle. “The cooperative sector offers an excellent alternative to enhance the social and economic well-being of Barbadians.”

The Barbados International Cooperative Committee is engaging members of cooperatives across the island to commemorate the International Year of Cooperatives 2025. The group is asking members to make suggestions on how they can celebrate the occasions. Ideas can be sent to Barbadoscoops 2025@gmail.com.

To promote greater involvement, the Cooperative Department of the Ministry of Energy and Business announced plans to launch a public awareness campaign aligned with the national Regathering 2025 initiative.

A national cooperative symposium will also be held on Wednesday, March 5. Two representatives from each cooperative in Barbados are expected to attend. (SZB)