PRESIDENT OF the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant, has recommended that the Government waive the General Consumption Tax (GCT) on all agricultural inputs over the next five years, in order to attract new farmers to the agricultural sector and to retain those already working within the sector.
Senator Grant, in his contribution to the State of the Nation Debate last Friday, said the proposed waiver could impact positively on burgeoning areas such as greenhouse technology.
"The material to construct a greenhouse should be exempted from GCT, because it is now defined as an agricultural product," he told the Senate.
He further suggested that a window should be opened at the Development Bank of Jamaica, where farmers could access loans at a maximum of seven to eight per cent for a repayment period of seven to 10 years, depending on the nature of the loan.
The senator hailed the Government's move to utilise $1 billion from the National Insurance Fund (NIF) to assist the small and micro enterprise sector, including the farming sector, as "a move in the right direction".
ATTRACTING YOUNG PERSONS
On the issue of attracting young persons to the agricultural sector, Senator Grant said, "There must be a massive drive to attract more young people by the creation of farm-on-land concept and have specific venture capital funding for students who are coming out of the tertiary institutions, such as the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, Knockalva and the other institutions."
He suggested that the incubator concept should be expanded to include the agricultural sector, adding that he has initiated discussions with State Minister in the Ministry of Industry, Technology, Energy and Commerce, Senator Kern Spencer, in that regard.
The JAS president proposed that a special tax incentive for building factories should be implemented by the Government to advance rural development and stem the rural-to-urban drift.
He also recommended that corporate tax on profits for the first five years of setting up a business in rural communities should qualify for a 50 per cent tax relief. He said it should be done "on the condition that this would be ploughed back in the company for expansion and also within the community to fund community-based projects that will advance the local community where the factory operates".
