The Editor, Sir:

I read an interesting article in your newspaper the other day blaming politicians for Jamaica's agricultural collapse and featuring Dr Keith Amiel.

Dr Amiel was one of the senior people trying to organise the gold crest broiler project on the north coast and when that did not take off, he became one of the senior managers, if not the senior manager, of Caribbean Broilers.

Import content

The problem is that the Jamaican broiler business is a perfect example of agriculture taking a wrong direction due to political protection. The broiler industry employs very few people, has a 94 per cent import content and, to top it off, needs a 260 per cent protective tariff to survive.

What is worse still is wherever the new production houses are placed, a massive stench spreads for miles around, at great discomfort to local residents.

All countries protect their agriculture, but agriculture that either uses labour and/or local inputs and that is internationally competitive. When we develop an agricultural model that does none of the above, what is the use?

Sucked up resources

What has also happened is due to the margins in the broiler industry brought about by protective tariff, it has sucked up the resources that should have been used for realistic agricultural development.

What is needed is an agricultural development that is internationally competitive albeit with a reasonable protective tariff, that uses Jamaican labour and Jamaican inputs.

Dr Amiel's agricultural model could not even be classified as a screwdriver industry as even the screwdriver is imported.

I am, etc.,

CHARLES GILPIN-HUDSON

St Catherine