Hugh Martin
WHEN THE Bernard Lodge and Long Pond sugar factories are closed, it won't be too long before the lands surrounding them fall totally out of sugar cane and into mile after mile of useless shrubbery. Unless, of course, some aggressive housing developer manages to acquire sections of the most productive areas to establish housing estates as has been the case - in St. Catherine especially. Bernard Lodge already has thousands of hectares of such land just lying there while the factory operates at a third of its capacity.
The evidence to support this prediction can be seen throughout the country where sugar factories have been closed down. Perhaps though, this time the proposed alternatives to sugar will be pursued and all those hectares of undeniably excellent agricultural lands will be put to productive use. The Prime Minister spoke, rather tentatively I think, about the production of ethanol for which there is a growing demand. This would require increased cane production, so if it does come off, those lands in cane would have to remain and the idle acres brought back into production. I am willing to be convinced that this ethanol project will be implemented and that the price incentives will be attractive enough to encourage farmers to make the necessary investment. So, I'll keep my fingers crossed.
One should not put all one's eggs in one basket, says the old saw, so other alternatives need to be put on the table. Experience has ruled out winter vegetables. Fruits have a multitude of problems relating to acceptability on the export market and there is hardly any other crop that can make use of all the land and provide the level of employment that has been lost. Sea Island cotton is probably the closest prospect but investors have surprisingly, been exceptionally cautious about it. What then to replace sugar?
SERIOUS ABOUT TIMBER
"Timber," says Keats Hall. His colleague at The Forest Conservancy, Guy Symes, is with him "full hundred". And they are very serious. Both men have between them close to a century of experience in the growing and reaping of timber, so when they speak on the topic people listen. Both built impressive reputations as director of forests and as managing director of the Forest Industries Development Company (FIDCO) in the 1970s and '80s and both later worked with the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation until recently.
At the Forest Department, they were at different times responsible for the planting of Caribbean pine on hills and mountains throughout Jamaica. Then together they were responsible for setting up FIDCO which set about reaping almost all of the said trees. They still believe the Caribbean pine is an excellent timber, but are firm believers in diversity. They have convinced a number of large land owners who have unused arable lands that teak is the crop of the future and have got them to put in several acres as demonstration plots. Recently potential investors have looked at these plantings and many have come away impressed.
The first reaction of most persons to the idea is usually one of amusement. Establishing forests on good arable land (the best in the case of sugar lands) sounds like doing things in reverse. Have these guys (no pun intended) been out in the forest too long and have got disoriented? Well, when you hear the numbers you begin to have second thoughts.
Teak is the world's most prized species of wood. It is used in the production of high-end furniture, flooring and marine craft, because of its beauty, high durability and natural resistance to decay. Hall and Symes estimate that using high-tech planting materials which reduce crop time by more than half the normal duration, teak timber production could generate US$50,000 to US$60,000 per acre after 15 years at a cost of US$1,500 per acre for establishment and maintenance. The most efficient cane farmer will tell you that at the current price for sugar which is at an all time high, he is grossing less than US$1,500 per acre per annum.
Jamaica currently imports some 60 million board feet of lumber annually at a cost in excess of US$40 million.
Global demand for high quality lumber is strong and continues to exceed the pace of production so there is a ready market. Admittedly, this is a long-term investment but the plantation begins to provide income from the thinning process within five years. In addition, the high returns at maturity make the crop a marketable commodity at various stages of growth.
Without even looking at the environmental benefits to be gained from large-scale reforestation, teak production on the vast acreages of unused and underutilised lands seems as credible a prospect as any in the search for alternatives.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster who may be reached at humar@cwjamaica.com.
