JAS leadership race takes surprise turn
Published:Thursday | June 22, 2023 | 12:47 AM
The race for the leadership of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) has taken another interesting twist with Fabian Rhule, president of the St Mary Association of Branch Societies, now added to the list of candidates contesting the top post of the 127-year-old membership organisation.
When The Gleaner caught up with Rhule at Wednesday’s launch of the annual Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show, he confirmed being duly nominated to challenge Albert Green, president of the Kingston and St Andrew Association of Branch Societies, and Owen Dobson, president of the Westmoreland Association of Branch Societies.
The young agriculturalist explained that he was pressed by a cohort of ‘ole farmers’ - the collective term given to graduates of the Farm School, Jamaica Agricultural Society and College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) - and, after much consideration, decided to take up the offer. Since then he has assembled a high-powered team which is ready to rumble but wants to remain anonymous for the time being.
The reasoning from the Rhule camp is that the reins of such a prestigious organisation needs to be back in the hands of someone with the requisite knowledge and understanding of the agricultural sector, with insight into the challenges faced by the different commodities organisations. This is especially important as the organisation prepares for the transition process which should have seen it wean off the government coffers in May.
Rhule, who graduated from the CASE in 2004, operates a farm and does volunteer work for the JAS and was pressed into taking over leadership of the St Mary Association of Branch Societies upon the sudden death of Dr Hugh Lambert in 2020. Since then he has demonstrated remarkable leadership skills in resurrecting the St Mary Agri-Expo.
However, he said he believed that, in order to recapture the hearts and minds of Jamaicans, the JAS in going forward must move beyond being known mainly for hosting agricultural shows. He said the organisation must first conduct a comprehensive audit of all its assets in order to determine how it can maximise their full potential. It must then use these assets to address the needs of the members in the branch societies, by looking at the unique or specific challenges they face and working with them to address these concerns.
“The one-size approach will not work because based on the topography of the land and culture of the people, the micro-climates in their area, it is by looking at these issues and seeing things from their perspective that you are going to be really able to help. They have to decide their future, with the relevant assistance. You cannot impose solutions on them,” he told The Gleaner.