The Jamaican government is expanding its Eat Jamaican Global Campaign to targeted markets in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom (UK) in a bid to promote authentic Jamaican food products worldwide, particularly to its diaspora communities.
Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining, Hon. Floyd Green, shared the update with JIS News during the Eat Jamaican Month Cook Off and Farmers Market at the Ministry’s Hope Complex in Kingston on November 29. The campaign officially launched in Florida earlier this month and will continue to expand into key diaspora centers, with plans to reach New York, Canada, and the UK by Eat Jamaican 2025.
“We had our first outing on this global campaign in South Florida… the plan now is to go into the other areas during the course of the year,” Minister Green said. “We’re targeting our main diaspora centers to achieve a number of goals, including boosting consumption of authentic Jamaican produce.”
Eat Jamaican Month, celebrated every November, culminated in Eat Jamaican Day on November 25. This year, the campaign took the celebration overseas, aiming not only to increase awareness and consumption of Jamaican products but also to educate the diaspora on identifying genuine Jamaican produce in international markets.
“The goal of the campaign is twofold,” Green explained. “We want to increase exports by ensuring that the diaspora supports authentic Jamaican products. And we also want to assist them in differentiating true Jamaican produce from imitators. There are manufacturers abroad claiming their products are Jamaican, often at a higher price, and we need our diaspora to be able to identify the real deal.”
As part of the campaign’s outreach, the Ministry will collaborate with Jamaican consuls and businesses that carry authentic Jamaican goods, including restaurants, to establish a database of trusted vendors. This effort aims to make it easier for consumers to identify establishments offering genuine Jamaican products.
Beyond promoting Jamaican food, the campaign is also encouraging investment in the island’s agriculture sector. “The best way to promote Eat Jamaican is to also support the growth of Jamaican agriculture,” Minister Green said. “We’re seeing significant interest, not just from the Caribbean diaspora, but from the African diaspora as well. We need to see more diaspora members investing in sectors like agriculture, especially as we expand agro-parks and new opportunities.”
Green emphasized that diaspora members in the U.S. and UK are particularly well-positioned to invest in Jamaican agriculture, given the sector’s potential for growth. He encouraged interested individuals to contact the Ministry for guidance on available investment opportunities.
The Eat Jamaican Global Campaign was officially launched in June 2024 at the 10th Biennial Jamaica Diaspora Conference held in St. James, and this expanded outreach is expected to significantly strengthen the connection between Jamaicans abroad and their homeland’s agricultural industry.
