SLHTA to increase sale of Local Produce through Virtual Agricultural Clearing House

In early 2016, the Saint Lucia Hotel & Tourism Association (SLHTA) made a commitment to strengthen linkages between the tourism and agricultural sectors. Since the appointment of the Agriculture/Tourism Liaison Officer, Ms. Donette Ismael on 1st March 2016, the Association has been working assiduously to develop initiatives that are targeted at strengthening this relationship.

One of the key initiatives stemming from this commitment is the implementation of a Virtual Agricultural Clearing House (VACH) program.

The VACH is an electronic platform on which hotels, restaurants and food and beverage distributors obtain information on the availability of crops, thereby facilitating an increase in the sale of local produce and encouraging import substitution.

Commenting on her hopes for VACH, Ms. Ismael stated that, “I envision an Agricultural sector with an enhanced capacity to supply quality and price competitive produce that meets the demands of the Hospitality industry”.

The clearing house is currently operational but will be officially launched at the SLHTA’s 52nd AGM Tourism Linkages Tradeshow on 19th May 2016.

Farmers interested in being a part of this exciting venture should contact Ms. Donette Ismael, at 485-9816 or dismael@slhta.com.

The SLHTA cannot guarantee the sale of any agricultural crops and is not responsible for the pricing, quality, delivery and distribution of the agricultural produce.