Small and medium-sized enterprises and the role of the bamboo sector in Jamaica. Presented by Countney Hume at a meeting on small and medium enterprises.

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MINISTRY of INDUSTRY,INVESTMENT & COMMERCE(MIIC)
THE BUREA OF STANDARDS(BSJ)OF JAMAICA
JAMAICA’S PRESENTATION BY-Mr. COURTNEY HUME
“SMALL AND MEDIUM SIZED ENTERPRISES AND THE ROLE OF THE BAMBOO
SECTOR IN JAMAICA”
Salutations -
Madame/Master of Ceremonies etc
Ladies and Gentlemen good –day to you
-On behalf of the G.O.J. but specifically the Hon. Minister of State (HMoS)
Sharon Ffolkes Abrahams- Minister with Portfolio responsibility in the
M.I.I.C. for Bamboo,
-Mr Gladstone Rose -the Special Bamboo Project Manager & INBAR Focal
Point at the B.S.J.
-Ms. Nora Blake-Advisor to the HMoS, former participant in Bamboo
Training here at INBAR/ICBR and a member of the Bamboo and
Indigenous Materials Committee (BIMAC) at the Bureau,
-myself and all players in the Bamboo sector I bring you greetings from our
island home in the Caribbean, Jamaica.
Jamaica is the land where Bob Marley and sweet Reggae Music were born,
where the fastest man and woman in the world were born and where I was
born, happily for all of us, it’s a place where the sun shines all year round
and it never snows.
In Jamaica, a national Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise (MSME) &
Entrepreneurship Policy is a critical initiative by the Government of Jamaica

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which became an Act of Parliament in 2013. This, as MSMEs play an
important role in economic development and represent the main source of
new business startups, with great potential to contribute growth and
innovation in the economy and accounting for 90% of total employment.
MSMEs are therefore a high priority on the national agenda as the sector it
is felt is critical for transforming the economy to achieve the vision
articulated in the National Development Plan 2030 which states our goal, to
make - “Jamaica, the place of choice to live, work, raise families and do
business.”
In order to understand the role of the new and emerging Bamboo Sector in
Jamaica we have to examine the role of Micro, Small and Medium Sized
Enterprises.
The Government’s policy does not prescribe a common, mandatory
definition but provides guidance as to what is accepted as a description of
micro, small and medium enterprises in the Jamaican context:
1. Micro enterprises are generally defined as having one (1) to three (3)
employees and/or an annual turnover less than
J$10,000,000.(JAD$115:US$1).
2. Small enterprises are described as having between four (4) to ten
(10) employees and/or an annual turnover of over J$10,000,000 but
less than J$40,000,000.
3. Medium enterprises are categorized as having between eleven (11)
to fifty (50) employees and/or an annual turnover that falls between
J$40,000,000 and J$150,000,000
The Government of Jamaica (GOJ), through the Ministry of Industry,
Investment & Commerce (MIIC) and its agencies are committed to
providing support for micro and small enterprises.This is being done
through programmes which facilitate entrepreneurial development through
financial and non-financial support. The drive to secure resources, through
multilateral and bilateral agencies will be continued as the GOJ seeks to
facilitate capacity building in credit institutions and businesses in an effort
to improve efficiency and productivity throughout the sector.

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Importantly the training offered in Bamboo to Jamaica by China’s
MOFCOM through our Ministry of Foreign Affairs & Foreign Trade (MFAFT)
is one of the most highly placed .
The Hon. Sharon Ffolkes-Abrahams made a presentation with the theme
“Facilitating the Growth of Industries” to the Parliament of Jamaica on
18 June 2014 and in her introductory remarks she said: “… this theme
addresses the need for inclusive growth at all levels of our economy,
including all skills, groups, and geographic areas – both rural and urban. In
this context, our efforts are supportive of Jamaica’s thrust towards
becoming a logistics-centered economy, which will help us to be more
competitive in terms of the ease and speed of doing business, creating new
markets, and providing new opportunities for micro, small and medium-
sized enterprises (MSMEs).
Underpinning this theme is Proverbs 10 vs. 4: “He who has a slack hand
becomes poor, but the hand of the diligent makes rich.”
In her presentation she spoke about the role of the Bamboo Industry.
It is to be noted that the first ever bamboo forum was held at the BSJ in
April of last year in which the Deputy Director of INBAR (International
Network of Bamboo and Rattan), Dr. Li Zhi Young and Mr. Oliver Frith-the
Global Construction Programme Coordinator from INBAR were in
attendance.
The following is taken directly from her presentation:
THE BAMBOO INDUSTRY
“Mr. Speaker, bamboo propagation in Jamaica will be done through tissue
culture, facilitated by the work that has been done by Dr. Sylvia Mitchell at
the Biotechnology Centre at the University of the West Indies, along with
National Environmental Protection Agency(NEPA), with a focus on the
protection of Jamaica’s biodiversity.

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In Jamaica, the Bamboo Products Industry Project, housed at the Bureau
of Standards Jamaica (BSJ) has demonstrated that the common specie of
bamboo growing in Jamaica (Bambusa vulgaris) is amenable to the
technologies now being used, and as such, provides opportunities for the
production and commercialization of a wide range of these bamboo
products.
Mr. Speaker, bamboo can be used to create a wide range of products,
including: bamboo flooring, corrugated roofing, furniture, hand-made
bamboo woven laminates, pens and pencils, toothpicks and chop sticks,
edible bamboo shoots, bamboo water/beer, bamboo pallet, bamboo paper,
bamboo charcoal, bamboo panels, bamboo mats, basketwork, pulp, value-
added craft items to improve the stock available for tourism, and one of my
favourites, bamboo fabric. Assistance will be sought from INBAR with
respect to the technical support of bamboo shoot production in Jamaica,
which had a global trade value of over $273 million (2012).
Charcoal Production, Products and Applications
As a cleaner source of energy, bamboo charcoal provides a more
sustainable source of fuel. Bamboo charcoal can be easily produced. The
use of bamboo charcoal limits the need for firewood, and so reduces
deforestation. It has many uses, which will be prototyped and developed in
the framework of the new Bamboo Industry Board.
In early 2014, following a meeting with members of the Bamboo and
Indigenous Materials Advisory Council (BIMAC), the Minister of Water,
Land, Environment and Climate Change (MWLEC), The Hon. Robert
Pickersgill and his technical advisors, policy consultants, the head of

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NEPA, myself and my technical advisor Nora Blake, NEPA reconsidered
the ban on bamboo charcoal, which was based on some misconceptions
about bamboo charcoal. The Minister issued a letter exempting bamboo
charcoal from the ban on the export of charcoal from Jamaica.
This occurred around the same time that Senator Norman Grant moved a
private members motion in the Senate for the government to accelerate its
support for the nascent bamboo industry in Jamaica.
Following the removal of the ban, a member of BIMAC established a
relationship with businesses in the United States, which has led to an order
for 6 million pounds of Jamaican bamboo charcoal, with an estimated retail
value of 10 million US-dollars.
I am happy to report that today a facility in Jamaica using kilns imported
from China has started to export Organic Bamboo Charcoal to the USA and
in so doing employs 30 persons
Policies, Financing and Targeting 2014 -2017
“Mr. Speaker, the MIIC will be focusing on developing strategies and
supportive policies, and financing of the new bamboo sector to help take it
forward. Within this broader context, a new Bamboo Industry Board will
examine strategies and means for social inclusion to benefit marginalized
groups, particularly those in rural areas, women and the disabled. “
A study of the MSME Policy will reveal cross cutting policy objectives and
strategies to facilitate women and disabled .
Policy Objective: To ensure equality and equity of opportunities between
women-owned and men-owned business

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Policy Strategies:
(i) Continuously identify factors that constrain the participation of women
in business and develop appropriate strategies to address them
(ii) Build capacity of organizations/entities to design and deliver
programmes that take the unique challenges of female entrepreneurs into
account
(ii) Facilitate training with at least 50% of training resources allocated to
women entrepreneurs
(iii) Develop business incubators to facilitate innovation and the use of
indigenous material with at least 30% Women Owned Businesses
Policy Element: Persons with Disabilities
Policy Issue:
A cursory glance at the Jamaican workforce will reveal that although
persons with disabilities are still employable and are being employed, there
remains a high level of unemployment within the group. As of December
2011, The Jamaica Council for Persons with Disabilities (JCPD registered a
little over 12,045 disabled Jamaicans1
but believe that the number of
physically challenged persons living on the island is closer to 400,000. For
many persons with disabilities or debilitating conditions, self-employment
offers the hope of both making a living and achieving self-sufficiency.
Policy Objective:
1
See ESSJ 2011

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To provide full inclusion, opportunities and support for persons with
disabilities within the business community
Policy Strategies:
(i) Provide increased funding for the small-scale entrepreneurship
venture under the Rehabilitation Grant
(ii) The MIIC and its agencies should partner with the Jamaica Council
for Persons with Disabilities to develop special training programmes
that respond to needs of persons with disabilities that operate
businesses
(iii) Ensure that at least 5 per cent of participants in all training
programmes offered by the MIIC and its agencies comprise persons
with disabilities
(iv) MIIC and its agencies as well as NGOs and other groups to provide
training, financing and other business development support to
persons with disabilities
(v) Ensure the MSME and Entrepreneurship Policy and all relevant
documents used for business development are converted to Braille
and other formats for ease of access for persons with disabilities
Inclusive development with bamboo has provided secured livelihoods for
many thousands of rural producers on all continents. The same can be
done for Jamaica.

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Participatory Certification of Sustainable Production
While the sustainable production of bamboo is critical for people in
developing countries, bamboo certification frameworks lag behind.
However I am happy to announce that a Jamaican standard for Bamboo
Charcoal Air Purification to be used in the manufacture of charcoal air
filters ,is being Gazetted into Law in our Houses of Parliament following on
its signing by the Minister on Thurs April 4.
New Bamboo Product Factories to be Established
MIIC will be spearheading a bamboo development strategy to facilitate the
establishment of bamboo products factories in various zones throughout
Jamaica, many of which will take the form of community Co-Operatives:-
Zone 1 – Hanover, Westmoreland, St. James: Factories producing bamboo
board and furniture, bamboo charcoal. We are in discussions with the
Ministry of Local Government & Community Development to establish a
factory.
Zone 2 – St. Mary, Portland, St. Thomas: Factories producing edible
bamboo shoots, bamboo charcoal, and preserved bamboo sticks.
Zone 3 – St. Andrew, St. Catherine, Clarendon: Factories producing
bamboo saw dust pellets, bamboo shipping pallets, preserved bamboo yam
sticks, bamboo charcoal water and air filters.
Zone 4 – St. Elizabeth, Manchester: Factories producing edible bamboo
shoots, bamboo charcoal, preserved bamboo yam sticks, and bamboo
power generation.

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An Island-wide bamboo training programme is being discussed which will
also have the involvement of INBAR.
The future of the new and emerging Bamboo Sector in Jamaica will be
driven by Micro, Small and Medium Sized Enterprises.