BEST AGRICULTURAL MARKETING PRACTISES

I. Trinidad and Tobago

1. NAMDEVCO’s Text Messaging System for Wholesale Prices

To improve information accessibility for stakeholders, The National Agricultural Marketing and
Development Corporation (NAMDEVCO) has embarked on a Text Messaging SMS Service to
provide wholesale prices for fresh produce and seafood.

NAMDEVCO has provided a system that is immediate and efficient in disseminating

information to farmers and stakeholders who live in remote areas and without access to
computers or internet. Since most of the T&T population have access to at least one mobile
phone, NAMDEVCO views SMS as being a very important information dissemination tool. They
can easily and quickly send us a text message requesting the commodity and we will
automatically send the current market price to their phone so that they can negotiate better
prices.

Exporters, Supermarkets, Importers, Agro-Processors, Hotels, Restaurants and Caterers who

rely on NAMDEVCO’s commodity prices, will also can use this system to assist them in their
buying operations. Fishermen who are out at sea will also benefit from this pricing system
before entering local markets.
Whether you are on a Digicel or B mobile network, just send a text message to 46PRICE or 467-
7423 with the keywords “Get<your commodity name goes here>”. For instance, “Get carrot”.
NAMDEVCO will automatically send the latest updated wholesale price for the commodity
requested. This feature cost the same as an ordinary text message.
The development of NAMDEVCO’s SMS system was done by the Corporation’s Information
Technology team.

How it works?
Whether you are on DIGICEL’s or BMOBILE’s network, simply send a text message to

46PRICE (467-7423)
with the message:

Get <your commodity name here>

For example, get carrots.
NAMDEVCO will then automatically send you the latest wholesale prices for the commodity that you
requested.

How much does it cost?

It costs the same as a normal text message sent to a BMOBILE phone.
Can it work with DIGICEL or BMOBILE?
Yes. It can work on any network.
Can it work on my phone?
Yes. Once you can send a text message, yes it will work.
How was it built?
The development of the SMS system was done in-house by our I.T. Team without any costs to
NAMDEVCO.
Introducing the Agri Price App
You can now access current wholesale prices for over 53 commodities sold in Trinidad and
Tobago! These prices are updated almost daily by NAMDEVCO.

The Agri Price App was developed by the University of the West Indies and NAMDEVCO. The
app is available on both android and IOS devices from the google store and appstore
respectively.

Link of the website is given below :

http://www.namdevco.com/services/latest-technologies/

2. Packaging Facility
NAMDEVCO Packinghouse facility is situated on seven (7) acres of land located at the Caroni North Bank
Road, Piarco, approximately two (2) kilometres from the Piarco International Airport, Trinidad and
Tobago. This new facility is intended to provide a one stop destination for fresh produce packers and
exporters so that they can store their fresh fruits and vegetables as well as meat and fish, in transit to
foreign markets.

The packinghouse includes four refrigeration rooms, three chiller rooms, one freezer room and storage
area for over 100 pallets of produce. Each room is individually controlled and can be completely separated
but interconnected when necessary.

There are also three partially mechanized packing lines that allow for trimming, cleaning, sorting,
grading, weighing and packaging of produce. Each line has an estimated throughput of two tones per
hour, providing employment for seven people per line. Speed on these lines can be increased using up to
11 persons per line.

The processing lines comprises essentially of conveyors to move the product through the different stages
of preparation. In addition, there are facilities for weighing, labeling, moving pallets etc. as well as
refrigerated storage (chill and frozen).

The existence of this facility is attracting the attention of not only exporters, but also suppliers into
supermarkets locally and abroad, who recognize the great importance of modern systems, in the
development of their own markets.

The facility is managed and operated by NAMDEVCO. The Corporation would provide staff for day-to-day
management of the facility, supervision of operating personnel, the provision of other staff as necessary,
packaging materials etc. NAMDEVCO will employ production workers on a contracted basis to receive,
sort, grade and package produce. This is necessary because HACCP certification is being applied for the
Piarco Packing House and control must always be maintained.

Users pay charges based on:-

 A throughput fee per Kg (lbs)

 packaging material needed
 storage fees as applicable
The cost of providing services would be recovered through a system of fees to be paid by users

(1) A throughput fee based on:-

- the volume of product

- the type of product i.e. lower priced product will attract a lower rate and vice versa

(2) Cost of packing material

(3) Storage fees for goods held for more than 24 hours

Exporters can benefit in the following ways:

 Presence of plant quarantine inspectors and customs officials on site.

 Clean, certifiable environment, which will allow penetration of higher quality markets.
 Produce storage facilities will allow better produce quality maintenance.
 Direct link to governmental agencies, thereby reducing delays in document processing.
 Better protection from variances in shipping schedules.
 Greater access to extension and technology advice.
 Better security for produce delivery and export dispatching.
 Better marketing opportunities due to central location.