Kaci Hamilton, Contributor

Dr Lyndon Johnson, whose agro-industrial company, Technosol Limited, extracts the essential oils from pimento and other raw Jamaican products, says, "There is just something about where Jamaica is located that has granted us a blessing." - Contributed

Overseas observers are still scratching their heads while others sniff around the hillsides of Jamaica, determined to unveil the miracle food that may have propelled Jamaican athletes to 11 medals, including six gold, at the Beijing Olympics.

Their curiosity, for the most part, centres on the 'gold' in yellow yam which has been singled out as the substance that gives Usain Bolt, the world's fastest man, a jolt.

Glitter for success

Scientist Dr Lyndon Johnson sees the glitter for success in the green leaves and bushes around his farm and pimento factory in Hodges, St Elizabeth, four kilometres from the parish capital of Black River.

"There's a growing international movement to organic products and people are willing to pay more for them," says Johnson, managing director of Technosol Limited, which squeezes oil from pimento leaves into a multimillion-dollar export business. "We have the ability to establish new products."

"There is just something about where Jamaica is located that has granted us a blessing," says Johnson, who has a PhD in natural products chemistry from the University of the West Indies. It's in the pungency of the ginger and thyme, the flavour of the cocoa beans, bitter wood, coffee, bissy (kola nut) and scallion, he says. Even the marijuana grown locally is hotly favoured as the grade to get.

"Jamaica has consistently produced the best products in certain categories worldwide, and this is for a number of reasons - our latitude and longitude, the mix of rainfall, sunshine, wind patterns, etc, and the undulating terrain of the country, wherein you have these micro-climatic niches, so from the coast to the mountains you have various zones in which a variety of crops will thrive."

Jamaica is located at latitude 18 15 N and longitude 77 30 W, which makes it a tropical island.

However, these coordinates do more than just provide great weather year round, they provide the perfect weather - ample rainfall and sunlight - for farming. As a tropical island, Jamaica gets the same weather that feeds a majority of the world's rainforests, home to half the living animal and plant species on the planet and which are considered the world's largest "(natural) pharmacy". This perfect weather, coupled with fertile - primarily limestone-based - soil, as well as a pretty cool fact about its geological evolution, means the island is able to produce superior crops year after year.

Jamaica's formation

Jamaica's geological formation took place during the mid-Miocene era, emerging from the ocean as one mass and, hence, was never attached to any other island while being formed.

Lois Morgan, nursery manager at the Hope Zoo and Botanic Gardens in Kingston, says, "Never having been attached to another land mass is really what contributes to us having such a diversity of plants. These plants haven't really been affected by external influences."

Therefore, while Jamaica is home to more than 3,000 species of flowering plants and trees - some of which are based on the speciation that takes place when a species separates to form a second species, according to its needs - 27 per cent (about one of every four) of that 3,000 is found only in Jamaica.

Added to this natural fertility and amazing biodiversity, the location that puts the icing on the cake, says Morgan, who has a master's degree in botany. "Our climate has been pretty much the same for the past 30 years, and this has to do with our geographic location and our proximity to the equator. Being in the tropics is a blessing."

Right conditions

The temperature in tropical rainforests ranges from 15-50C, with annual rainfall between 125 and 660cm (48-264 inches). Jamaica's temperature ranges from 22-30C, with between 132 and 259cm (52-103 inches) of rain per year. This type of climate provides the best of both worlds, says Morgan. While the island doesn't have the chilly weather required for some crops, the interaction of tropical temperature with the higher altitude areas inadvertently creates the right conditions to grow some fruits that are usually found in colder climates.

"In the Blue Mountains, we can have temperatures as low 15C in the winter months and it remains moist all year round. That actually influences the variety and quality of what is grown there. In addition to the coffee, of course, some farmers have been able to grow strawberries, peaches - I've even heard of North American apples being grown up there."

Another contributing factor to this agricultural wealth is the amount of daily sunshine. The Meteorological Service of Jamaica confirms that the longest day of the year occurs in June, with 13.2 hours of sunshine, while the shortest day occurs in December with 11 hours. This is in comparison to places like New York City, which gets nine hours of sunshine in the summer and five hours in the winter. Not only does Jamaica get more sunshine than its neighbours to the north and south, but the tropics are the only areas on which the sun shines directly overhead. This may not be so good for keeping cool, but it's evidently great for crops.

"The Jamaican product is superior not only by reputation, but also by quality parameters established by various industries," says Johnson, whose agro-industrial company extracts the essential oils from pimento and other raw Jamaican products to supply flavour houses locally and internationally.

Authentic taste

In addition to his work with flavour extraction, Johnson, who encounters the demand for quality Jamaican produce daily, owns an 85-acre farm where he grows a number of crops, such as pimento and peppermint. He even has an experimental patch of lemon grass.

"The flavour houses come to us because our pimento, our ginger, our thyme, our coffee are some of the best in the world. We are one of the only countries that supply pimento oil. Our cocoa beans are very highly regarded as well. It makes for a superior quality and flavour. Take, for example, the Jamaican jerk, that's why people want the authentic version."

In some cases, Jamaican produce is in such high demand that buyers are willing to pay for it before it's even reaped. Jason Sharpe, director of Coffee Traders Ltd, says a significant percentage of the coffee industry has relationships with buyers, wherein they pay a 50 per cent deposit on produce before the crop year even starts.

Stocking up

Many Jamaicans living abroad are also disdainful of produce grown elsewhere and, much to the chagrin of customs officers in foreign ports, take the opportunity to stock up when returning to their adopted countries.

After each visit, Shirley Harley, a retiree who has been living in New York City since 1966, arms herself with whatever she can get past United States customs.

"Jablum is US$38 per pound! I can only afford to buy a quarter pound of that when I do, so I make sure to grab a couple packs when I'm visiting and then I ration it," she explains.

"As for other things, like yams, peppers, breadfruit, ackee, thyme - especially the thyme - I have a special market just for that. I will buy Jamaican as long as it's there, even though ackee is US$15 a tin. In fact, most of the supermarkets in the outer boroughs (of New York City) now have a Jamaican food section."

If the island plays its card right, pimento alone can reap earnings of US$20 million in the medium term just for the primary ingredients. Long term, the heady aroma of pimento (allspice to the rest of the world) could be worth as much US$100 million if Jamaica goes after the final products, such as flavourings and fragrances, used in aromatherapy, says Johnson.

Share your opinions on Jamaica's potential for greater exploitation of its agricultural wealth at editor@gleanerjm.com.

Coffee berries in the Blue Mountains. - Colin Hamilton/Freelance Photographer