Agriculture is a knowledge-intensive industry and Farmers need to obtain and process financial, climatic, technical and regulatory information to manage their farms effectively. This is the role of the Production and Marketing Intelligence Services ( PROMIS) unit at Central Marketing Corporation. Established in 1985, PROMIS is the result of a joint effort between the Caribbean Agricultural Rural Development Advisory and Training Service (CARDATS) and the Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) in Antigua and Barbuda. Funds were provided by CARDATS, personnel for data collection , analysis and information dissemination was provided by MOA and office space provided by CMC.
Objectives:
- To procure and disseminate information to local farmers that will enable them to maximize their production potential and supply the nation with agricultural produce.
- To assist consumers (retail, wholesale) in their decision making, by providing relevant, timely information on the production schedules of local farmers.
- To identify and analyze key policies, issues and institutional constraints which impede the agricultural productive process and provide possible solutions.