EDITORIAL - Renewed hope for agriculture

Crop diversification in traditional banana-growing areas of the country is giving renewed hope to farmers who saw their livelihood disappear in a haze of manoeuvres by international market forces to end protection for Caribbean bananas entering Europe.

Reports in this newspaper suggest a positive buzz has been generated in several farming communities in St Catherine, St Thomas, Portland and St Mary where banana was once the mainstay of families.

Reforms to the European Union's (EU) banana regime meant small Caribbean economies would no longer enjoy the preferential privileges of the past and would see their earnings from banana and sugar substantially reduced. It is in acknowledgement of the loss of earnings and displacement of industry workers that the European Union has sought to provide a powerful stimulus to crop diversification by distributing seeds and other planting material, as well as fertilisers to small and medium-sized farmers. Abandoned cocoa plantations in St Mary have also come in for EU attention.

Economic evaluation

Crops such as turmeric, pumpkin, dasheen, sweet potato and cassava are among the cash crops being planted.

We assume a detailed economic evaluation of these crops was conducted, for they must have high marketability to be of real benefit to the farmers. Far too often we have seen gluts and large amounts of produce rotting in the fields because there is no market for them. People need to be convinced that viable markets can be built around crop diversification before they fully embrace the concept. We assume further that there was an assessment of the suitability of the land for these new crops in order to save the farmers from frustration and ultimate devastation.

This new emphasis on cash crops should be accompanied by a robust rejuvenation of the 'eat what you grow campaign'. The fact is that crop diversification will be of minimal national value if Jamaicans scoff at local produce and continue to indulge their taste buds for imported staples like rice, flour and wheat on the same scale we are accustomed to.

National strategy

Meantime, we see the need for a national strategy for crop diversification with the help of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA). By introducing new crops that require shorter growing periods, and drought-resistant varieties we could increase all sources of food and vegetables, for the local and international markets.

Not only would our consumption patterns change for the better, but we could eliminate the need to spend scarce foreign exchange on importing produce like peppers from Colombia, ginger and annatto from West Africa, and even tamarind from the Philippines.

Crop diversification may be the sustainable farming model that has eluded the small farmer over these many years. The encouraging reports coming from these regions suggest there is merit in crop diversification as a strategy for economic growth. Agriculture Minister Dr Christopher Tufton must now ensure these projects are properly promoted so they can be seen as models of productivity for investors. Dynamism in the agriculture sector will, hopefully, attract to the land those who are unskilled and unemployed, as their hope for a better future.

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