Hugh Martin IN THE first part of this discussion of Alternative Agriculture carried on September 13, we established that the major traditional export crops were all in trouble for one reason or another. In almost every case it was due to circumstances over which we had very little control. But there were a few that could be doing a lot better with a more enlightened approach.
We established also that a number of non-traditional export crops were doing quite well while some others were having problems of their own, often similar to those of the traditional. The problems ranged from the invasion of major pests and diseases through low productivity, inefficiency and high production costs to the erosion of longstanding preferential marketing arrangements.
But in spite of all that, we argued, there was still a future for the agricultural sector and that the future lies in the pursuit of alternative approaches, practices, crops and markets. Which is not to say that there is no place for the traditionals such as bananas, sugar, coffee, citrus, cocoa and pimento. In an earlier column I pointed out that while banana exports had fallen by over 50 per cent there was a large untapped export market for banana chips. The day following its publication I received an E-mail from a reader in the UK, one Jennifer Gordon which implored: "When the banana chips finally arrive in the UK can you make a mention to the suppliers that we want them in Birmingham and not just London".
Implicit in Ms Gordon's plea is the suggestion that we tend to concentrate too much on the traditional while failing to exploit the areas of greatest need. Those may be much smaller markets but they may be more lucrative and they may be many.
We import into Jamaica each year some 50,000 tonnes of refined sugar probably processed from the raw sugar we had originally exported. It is interesting to note that we do have the capacity to produce the stuff but because we are able to produce only enough raw sugar to supply our traditional markets there is never any to refine. So we remain a supplier only of primary products and hardly ever of the value-added where the real money is.
Dr. Henry Lowe, in his presentation at the recent Denbigh Show, to which I referred last time, listed a number of crops presently grown in Jamaica which have great potential for development in the nutraceuticals and functional foods industry. Sugar cane was among them. And another notable Jamaican, Mr. Byron Blake, Assistant Secretary General for Regional Trade and Economic Integration - CARICOM, speaking at a Jamaican Association of Sugar Technologist conference, in November last year, described some 18 categories of products that can be obtained from the sugar cane plant. A similar case can be made for other crops like cocoa, pimento and coconut and the spices including ginger, black pepper and turmeric. These are the crops that Dr. Lowe identified as the basis for our entry into the $100 billion nutraceuticals and functional foods industry.
The other emerging area of significance to Agriculture that Dr. Lowe spoke of is herbal medicines. These are now assuming greater importance in the primary health care of individuals in both the developed and developing countries resulting in an increase in their trade internationally. The World Health Organisation is fully supporting the development and has estimated that nearly 80 per cent of the world's population use herbal medicines for some aspect of their primary health care. More accessible to us is the United States where at least 100 million persons use some type of herbal product. And if you have any doubts about the rapid growth of this industry consider these figures:
The global market for herbal medicines in 1996 was estimated at US$14 billion. By 1999 it increased to US$64 billion. Today, the estimated value is in excess of US$78 billion. In Jamaica the official market for herbal products including imports is estimated at J$450 million. According to Dr. Lowe, approximately 80 per cent of the major herbal plants exist in Jamaica. And what is of most interest is the fact that Jamaica possesses the environmental conditions, basic agricultural infrastructure and the expertise for cultivation of a variety of these plants. He reckons that the formalised cultivation of these plants could be of significant economic benefit to entrepreneur farmers and to the country. Undoubtedly, I say. But it requires a major shift in the thinking of our policymakers, our technocrats and our farmers. It requires a retraining of our change agents and I am talking here about our Extension Officers and, by extension (no pun), the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) which will need the funds to do what it was created to do. We'll take a look at that next time.
Hugh Martin is a communications specialist and farm broadcaster. E-mail: humar@cwjamaica.com.
