A pilot plan to turn Cheapside Market into a more organised, year-round attraction — with cooking demonstrations, entertainment and a stronger draw for young people and visitors — has been put forward by the Ministry of Agriculture.
The proposal, unveiled by Manager of Markets Sherlock King during the Ministry of Agriculture and Food and Nutritional Security’s Looking Forward: Agriculture 2030 colloquium on Monday, forms part of the ministry’s wider transformation agenda.
Earlier in the forum, farm minister Dr Shantal Munro-Knight outlined plans to modernise the ministry and improve service delivery, while presentations identified market transformation as one of its strategic priorities through stronger farmer access to markets, retail partnerships and tourism linkages.
King’s talk formed part of a Transformation in Action panel highlighting practical initiatives being rolled out across the ministry’s departments and agencies to support the sector’s transformation agenda.
He said public markets must evolve to keep pace with changing shopping habits while continuing to support farmers and vendors.
“What we want to do is utilise public markets to bring people back to the city as well,” he said.
The pilot would seek to improve the shopping experience by making the market easier to navigate and creating clearer distinctions between produce vendors, seasoning vendors and other businesses:
“As it currently stands, markets can be difficult to navigate, because the shops are spread through the market, especially [since] vendors are mixed with produce vendors and seasonings and so on, and customers are spending unnecessary time searching.
“What we want to do is create a more organised system in the public markets where persons who come to the market can have a better experience.”
King noted that many vendors preferred operating outside because they believed it generated more sales:
“Generally, a lot of vendors feel that if they’re on the outside, they get the customer first… they get more sales.
“However, what we want to do is allow the person to understand that outdoor vending has its focus, indoor vending is also important as well because people like to experience things on the indoors.”
The proposal also aims to spread the vibrant Friday and Saturday atmosphere throughout the week.
“Those of you who know Cheapside Market, basically that’s a two-day market and during the week traffic is pretty low,” King said.
“What we want to do with the marketing project is to allow for the experience from Fridays and Saturdays to be all through the week. We want to connect it to tourists. We want to connect it with everybody so they can come to the market any day of the week to get produce.”
To help create that experience, King suggested introducing music, cooking demonstrations and food tastings using fresh local produce sold at the market.
“We want to have some chefs come into the market system, use the products that are there in the market, produce samples… so that people can have that experience with fresh produce and they can see how to prepare these things in new and different ways.”
He also wants the initiative to reconnect younger Barbadians with public markets by adapting to changing consumer preferences.
“We want to appeal to the newer generation to have young people come back to the public market system.
“You need to have that same culture where young people see the value of markets, go to markets, buy products, interact with the vendors, understand the culture, understand the history… and understand that the market is a melting pot of different cultures.”
Increasing foot traffic would also strengthen vendors’ livelihoods, said King, noting that hundreds of people currently operate from Cheapside.
“When you come to the market, you are supporting your own people. You’re improving their livelihood, you’re helping families and so on, and understand that markets play a very, very important role in helping to buffer the unemployment or employment situation in the country.”
(SM)
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