THE EDITOR, Sir:
THE HURRICANE season, more than at any other time, raises the issues surrounding our preparedness for natural disasters. There is, however, in times of turbulence, not only possible calamity but nascent opportunity for those who are looking beyond the obvious. Significant opportunities exist for further agricultural and agro-industrial development to fit us for these times.
Take the matter of the basic foodstuff for post-disaster provisioning. Do these have to come from abroad? Are we so hooked on imported grains and cereals that we don't see opportunities for developing reserve stockpiles of our own starches and legumes? Have we given up on things like cassava, yam, peas and beans? We already produce large amounts of all these and they store well. Research could identify other suitable locally produced foodstuff (what about bananas and plantains?) and the best forms and conditions for long-term storage. This could stimulate greater farm production and industrial capability while building our R&D capacity.
Current scientific information warns us to expect more, larger, and mightier hurricanes in the future, and they are not the only disasters we face. Reliance on being able to quickly transport large amounts of material from Kingston to elsewhere is an inherently risky and inefficient practice in times of disaster. As Hurricane Ivan has shown, our transportation infrastructure can be severely degraded by these events.
I am advocating the establishment of regional or parish depots in which provision can be stored, thereby shortening the distribution chain and time. It is time we develop a decentralised strategic stockpile of essential provisions for disaster relief, and our own agricultural produce can and should have a higher profile in this scheme.
I am, etc.,
MICHAEL NICHOLSON
kovsky54@yahoo.com
8 Liguanea Avenue
Kingston 6
