Hugh Martin
JAMAICAN BEEF and dairy farmers, acting separately, have in the past caught the attention of the public in spectacular fashion with their bold and innovative methods of protest and lobbying. Who can forget the march on Gordon House by dairy farmers in their attempt to get the government to deal with the problems of the industry occasioned by the importation of cheap milk solids. They were thrown out of Parliament for their troubles, but they did succeed in getting some adjustments to the duties on the imported stuff.
The beef farmers' hamburger dumping exercise at one outlet of the famous fast food chain stands out as one of the most effective protest actions ever seen locally. But while both groups achieved some measure of success by those actions the benefits were not lasting. Since 1990 the local cattle population has declined by approximately 50 per cent. What is even more alarming is that the breeding herd has declined by 50 per cent and the decline is continuing. This means simply that the cattle sector is on the verge of collapse and that the famous cattle breeds, developed by the late Dr. T.P. Lecky, are on the road to extinction.
To say that this situation is a crying shame is to understate. To say that something must be done to save what is without doubt a national asset is a cliché and is simply echoing Agriculture Minister Roger Clarke's favourite line: "We must find a way". Which we could be tempted to interpret as an admission that they have lost their way. What seems more likely though is that they lack or have lost the will to find the solutions.
'BADNESS'
That may have been the view of the beef and dairy farmers when they decided to pool their resources and form an association, the Beef and Dairy Producers Association of Jamaica (BADPAJ). It's as if they think that since separately they were able to coax some positive responses, then together they are sure to force some action in the right direction. I am told that although the acronym suggests militancy, the association will not be throwing any "BADness" about, but will be approaching the Government in a spirit of co-operation and partnership with a carefully prepared plan to revitalise the sector.
CATTLE WORKSHOP
Both the association and the plan emanated from a cattle workshop which was held in September last year and involved all the players in the sub-sector including processors. The consensus was that any programme to rescue and rebuild the cattle sector, at this time will require significant Government intervention as producers have been so devastated over the past decade they are unable to make any meaningful capital contribution and the sector in its present circumstances is unattractive to investors. They estimate that it will require some US$27 million (J$1.75 billion).
The question that could arise now is why bother to pump all that money into an industry that has not been able to stand up to the competition. Why produce milk when you can import it cheaper. Why struggle to produce beef when you can ship it in at a lower cost? Well, we were importing vegetables cheaper than the local offering until Hurricane Ivan wiped out local production and then the price hit the ceiling. And we were importing beef from the United States until Mad Cow disease was discovered there and a ban was placed on imports from that source. Oh, we now import from New Zealand and Australia but at what cost to the Govern-ment? We need to protect our farming industries for that little matter called food security.
Between 1986 and 1990 local beef production averaged about 78 percent of total consumption. By 2003 this figure had fallen to 58 per cent. This is against the background of increasing demand for beef which is in itself a direct contradiction of the general belief that beef consumption is down because it is red meat. The main reason for the decline in the breeding stock is that farmers are selling them to the butcher to cash in on the relatively good prices obtaining now. If the help being sought by the cattlemen is not forthcoming, and soon, we may be eating dog for supper.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster at humar@cwjamaica.com.
