THE EDITOR, Sir:
EVER SO often, we hear agriculture being frivolously referred to as the "backbone" of our country. To the ordinary man, this is merely a sweet-sounding catch phrase.
To the bona fide farmer this has a wide range of connotations. To him, a people and a country cannot survive without food. It is their responsibility to provide food for the nation, and so prevent them from dying of starvation and suffering from malnutrition. Death by starvation must be one the most terrifying of all experiences. To avoid this, farmers must constantly shoulder the responsibility of providing the 'staff of life' for an unappreciative population which often takes farmers for granted.
PROVIDES MORE EMPLOYMENT
To the politician, agriculture is the backbone of our country, , because it provides more employment for our people than any other industry. This is more so true, when we include the praedial vultures in this category. Today, they are jostling for pride of place with our genuine farmers, while it is taking our Government over 12 years to pass a Praedial Larceny Act.
To the citrus and sugar cane companies, agriculture is a god-send, as it provides them with short term interest-free financing. When a farmer sells his citrus and his sugar cane in December, he receives a part payment and a promise that the remainder will be paid within six months. By then all that citrus and all that citrus concentrate would have been exported and the companies paid. During this time, the farmer is being pressured to pay his property tax, his water rates, his labour bills, his interest on his loans, the various statutory deductions etc.
Is it any wonder that the younger generation is steering clear of agriculture, while praedial larceny is flourishing? Is it any wonder, that the backbone of this country is like a sore-back jackass, that is unable to bear any more weight and is now ready to just lie down, roll over and die?
I am, etc.,
A.S. JACKSON
Chapelton P.O.
