A cornucopia of fruits and vegetables on display at the recent Denbigh Agricultural and Industrial Show. - FILE
The following is a rebuttal to Delroy Chuck's column of August 3, on Jamaica's competitiveness in the world economy.
Sir:
I AM a 37-year-old farmer and I have been in farming since I left school. I have been primarily in ornamental horticulture and up until the late 1990s was one of the largest exporters of cut flowers in Jamaica.
I have sold flowers in every single European country and have exported to as far as Saudia Arabia, Kuwait and even Lebanon. I have participated in many international trade shows attended by farmers from all over the world. When we, as farmers attend these shows, sit down and talk, it is clear that the farmers of Singapore and the Netherlands are the richest.
In your column you mentioned that Singapore is successful in orchid production despite the restrictions of high labour cost, expensive water, land shortage and a distant market. Singapore is not successful despite these factors for it is because of these factors that this type of agriculture was chosen.
1. Orchids require very little water. In fact, too much water reduces production and promotes disease. Most of the major Singaporean orchid farmers grow orchids within plastic houses to eliminate rainfall so they can have total control over irrigation. The more sophisticated ones grow orchids in what are called closed systems where the water is cycled continually with some treatment. So the water cost is minor.
2. Orchid cultivation in general is not labour-intensive. In fact most of the farms are family run so the labour is provided internally with one or two Indonesian labourers.
3. Again land is not a major factor, for orchid cultivation does not require a large amount of land; an acre of orchids on a world scale is a huge farm. Most of the farms are the size of one of the very large upper St Andrew yards. In fact it is because of this that flower cultivation on a whole has remained dominated by relatively small economies like Costa Rica, Ecuador, Singapore and the Netherlands
4. You mentioned how far Singapore is far from the markets. True, this is a strong negative, but like the Swiss watches you mentioned in previous articles, orchids and flowers as a whole are high-value items. Hence, unlike commodity products like sugar and banana, freight cost is a smaller fraction of total cost to market, so distance from market is a less significant factor.
I know nothing about ornamental fish, but I suspect that these factors are similar from a common-sense point of view. Using these factors as strong negatives for Singapore is not relevant.
In the last few years I have tried to diversify into some other crops, mostly vegetables, with varying success and it is my view that we can compete with imported produce.
It is my experience that when local produce is put against imported produce, with few exceptions, local produce can be sold at a premium price. This is particularly true of fresh vegetables.
When production is good, few people buy imported produce. Check the import data for the months of June and July. Imported onions and carrots are the main exceptions.
They are several factors for this. I speak from the unique experience - as a farmer who has supplied most of the major supermarkets; and as an importer who has imported nearly every single week for the last 10 years.
FARMING IS A BUSINESS
Farming is a business like all other businesses; if you implement all the business principles, we can compete.
I think the biggest problem facing farmers today is capitalisation and intellect. Put the brightest brains and money into agriculture and you see how fast it will turn around.
I am a firm believer in free trade. I do not believe in barriers. I believe if we were to open up our markets, it would lead to a survival of the fittest and most efficient.
Subsidising banana and sugar is a waste of money, although I see the JLP has endorsed this. The Buy Jamaica campaign is foolishness. The Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and everyone waste their time worrying about the wrong things. The biggest thing they should worry about is any day that a really big farmer with the money starts to grow tomatoes or any vegetable crop. Small farmers would be out of those crops within a year.
You ask around what happened when Spring Plain was in full production. Their reject production was enough to collapse the local prices; local farmers could not even compete with that. Check around. When is the last time papayas were imported into Jamaica? They are largely grown by large, capitalised, professional farmers.
Check on orchids, heliconias, anthurium, birds of paradise and most tropical flowers. These are not imported, for they are grown by professional farmers.
The agricultural argument is so far off the right track that most times I hear it being discussed I have to turn off the radio.
As for the agricultural shows, that is more mockery of what farming should be about. A true agricultural show should be about trade and building business.
Tell me, who was the champion banker or champion lawyer last year? The Denbigh show is like the final day of carnival, a day for the Governor-General and politicians to dress up like farmers.
Your recent writing on agriculture is interesting and I mostly agree with the theories, but they lack true local analysis of the problems and some of the technical factors are lacking. But, I guess you are a lawyer and not a farmer, so I excuse you.
Back up your columns with real practical knowledge of the industry.
I am, etc.,
POOR FARMER
Kingston
