PNP intends to strengthen agricultural sector, says Campbell

WESTERN BUREAU:

Dr Dayton Campbell, the opposition spokesman on agriculture, fisheries, and rural development, says small farmers will greatly benefit, should the People’s National Party (PNP) form the next government, as the party is committed to strengthening the local agriculture sector while protecting farmers.

According to Campbell, the opposition party intends to revisit the Praedial Larceny (Prevention) Act to better protect farmers from theft while penalising those guilty of making the lives of the farmers miserable by stealing their produce.

“Normally, when you take a matter [to court], the burden to prove the claim is up to the claimant. For animals, you may have your radio frequency identification (RFID) on the animal, some tag or something, so that’s easy to prove. But there’s no identifying mark on my breadfruit or my ackee, and my mangoes. So, what I’m saying is that we need to move the burden of proof from the claimant to the defendant,” said Campbell, who was speaking during a PNP town hall meeting in the farming community of Maroon Town, St James, on Tuesday evening.

“The person who is caught with the items is the person who has to show that they either produced them, or they have to show the receipt as to where they purchased them. If they can’t show that, then that person wouldn’t be able to make a case,” added Campbell.

EMPOWERING FARMERS FOR MODERNISATION

Additionally, Campbell subsequently told The Gleaner that the opposition party is hoping to encourage sustainable farming practices by establishing more funding and incentives for farmers who want to modernise their work.

“In addition to what normally comes to the Ministry of Agriculture, we have proposed the Agricultural Development Fund (ADF), which will look at funding,” said Campbell. “We’re also looking at assisting with land preparation and training of the farmers, for them to adapt to newer technologies.

“Some persons need to move to using shaded agriculture, greenhouses, hydroponics, and aquaponics. You know, just more modern ways of doing things that make them more efficient and improve the yield that they get.”

Campbell also spoke to the establishment of a central marketing system, which he said will further amplify the buying and selling of agricultural products locally.

“A central marketing system means that we know, always, what is under production. So, how many hectares of pineapple are under production in South St James? How many hectares of dasheen? How many hectares of onions are in St Elizabeth? We will know all of that; the maturity date and what the yield will be, so we can plan. You have to have data to plan,” said Campbell.

“If you know that, then you can control your import permits, and you can allow your local farmers to have that central management system, along with the storage, which will allow us to better plan for the hotels to get a more consistent supply and so that the farmers can earn more from it.”

Campbell also stated that the PNP plan is to broaden the scope of insurance offered to farmers, pointing out that local farmers need insurance to protect against losing crops and livestock because of natural disasters. This, he said, will be a focus under the Agricultural Development Fund.

“There needs to be a wider crop and livestock insurance scheme in place. And some of the funding from the Agricultural Development Fund will focus on that. It is not the government alone that will seed that fund, the farmers will have to contribute as well. But I’m saying, just think about the vagaries of weather with climate change and the different weather events you can have. You don’t even need a hurricane, just sustained rain over time and a farmer might lose everything,” said Campbell.

According to Campbell, the initiatives he outlined will help not only farmers but the children in schools around the island, as school feeding programmes generally centre around locally produced foods.

rochelle.clayton@gleanerjm.com