The Editor, Sir:

I note the headline of a news item in your Wednesday, October 8, 2008, edition, titled 'Caribbean Week of Agriculture - Fears take root in regional farm sector". I find it amusing to the see the words Caribbean and agriculture in the same sentence with the words "take root"! But as they were being used to connect the use of the word "fear", perhaps the use was justified.

Decline in production

Without a doubt, there has been massive decline in agricultural production in the region. In Jamaica, even though the data are there to show it, very few people connect the decline of agriculture with the downturn in the economy, something that started in the mid-1960s.

Without a vibrant economy, no country will be able to fund its national development. Instead, we fall deeper into debt, our infrastructure falls apart, our ability to educate our people steadily declines, state responsibilities, such as provision of basic social services, disappear and the ability to maintain law and order withers away.

All this stems back to the decline in agricultural production brought on by poor crop yields, both in quantity and quality. Unfortunately, the true causes behind the yield problem are still a mystery to some. Simply put, the problem is in the soil. While countries in the developed world, where the problem is not as acute as here, have been moving ahead on how to improve their soil health, we seem stuck in what I will call the 'fertiliser and water' mentality. No crop is going to yield at profitable levels unless it has healthy roots, and this will not happen unless we take soil health seriously.

I do hope in the near future that we will see a headline that reads 'Caribbean Week of Agriculture - Improved Soil Health - Yields take Root.'

I am, etc.,

MARK BROOKS

Malvern PO

St Elizabeth