Hugh Martin
AS A TEENAGER in the late 1950s and at the point of thinking about a career choice I was greatly influenced by a statement I heard attributed to the then premier of pre-independent Jamaica, Norman Manley. It was "Agriculture is the backbone of Jamaica." At that time the bauxite industry was getting into full stride and the makings of an emerging tourist industry could be discerned. Manufacturing though, would have to wait until the '60s to be considered seriously as a sector of the economy. But agriculture's contribution to Gross Domestic Product (GDP) then was a whopping 30 per cent.
Banana was "green gold' and sugar while no longer "king" was on an upward trend that would culminate in record production a decade and a half later. Our coffee, cocoa, ginger, and pimento had all carved out enviable niches on the world market. Agriculture was indeed the backbone of the country - and I chose it.
BACKWARD COUNTRIES
There is this well known talk show host who believes only backward countries place any great emphasis on agriculture. What he has failed to see is that agriculture was responsible for the development of most of these first world countries and that while it no longer holds pride of place it is well protected and plays a major role in food security and international trade.
For at least the first 30 years of Independence our leaders attempted to give reasonable attention to agriculture, while encouraging the growth of the other seemingly more attractive sectors. So in the sixties under Sir Alexander Bustamante
the Agricultural Marketing Corporation was established.
This, with its islandwide network of branches and well organised collection system, provided a ready market, reasonable prices and the possibility of wealth creation to farmers in every nook and cranny. The unprecedented levels of production that resulted allowed for the possibility of exports of non-traditional crops such as yam, dasheen, plantains and pumpkin. Originally the exports targeted Jamaicans who had migrated in large numbers to the United Kingdom and later to Canada and the U.S.A., but soon the market moved from being ethnic to embrace all and sundry.
STEM DRIFT
In the seventies Prime Minister Michael Manley took the lead role in conceptualising Operation Grow and Land Lease which helped to spur the expansion of the productive base. Soon, some non-traditional export crops were out-performing some of the traditional ones. Operation Grow was a bold attempt at rural development in an effort to stem the rural to urban drift by providing employment and secure land tenure to landless farmers. It failed in the end because the major component, the state-run food farms, were under-funded and inefficient and therefore were not sustainable
AGRO 21 in the 1980s was Prime Minister Edward Seaga's recognition of agriculture's considerable potential to grow the economy and provide large-scale employment. But winter vegetables and Spring Plains are concepts that are not talked about these days. Which is not to say that AGRO 21 was a total failure. The considerable expansion in fresh water fisheries that has taken place over the past 20 years owes a lot to the
innovative production methods employed by the Spring Plains operations and many persons have benefited from several of the high-technology introductions. Perhaps where the administration of the '80s made its biggest error was in the closing of the AMC. That closure had a devastating effect on production and some bright sociologist could build a reputation on a study showing the link between that closure and the high crime rate existing today.
'BIG FRAID'
I can't say with any amount of certainty but it does seem that since those failures of the seventies and eighties 'big fraid' has taken hold of our leaders where major decisions on agriculture are concerned. In other words since the '90s, except for the establishment of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), there hasn't been a programme of national significance designed to lift the performance of the sector. RADA itself was simply a reorganisation of the former Land Authorities to enable the more motivated cadre of Extension Officers to deliver quicker and more meaningful services to the farmers. That happened for a while, but now through numerous down-sizing operations, reduction in funding and just plain neglect RADA limps along like the rest of the sector. I would like to suggest to the person who succeeds Prime Minister P. J. Patterson that he - well, or she, take a good look at the enormous potential that resides in the agricultural sector and stop the neglect.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster who may be reached at humar@cwjamica.com.
