EDITORIAL - Where are the big plans for agriculture?

If we needed any proof that agriculture does not occupy the priority position it ought to, we need only listen to the voices of the island's agriculture educators.

A report in Friday's edition of this newspaper painted a picture of neglect and lack of focus, suggesting that no real linkage exists between the Ministry of Agriculture and the schools specialising in training young minds for positions in agriculture.

This leads us to conclude that slogans like 'Eat what you grow, grow what you eat' are meaningless because there is as yet no awareness of the irreplaceable role of agriculture in the economic and social development of the country.

Some experts have lauded the devaluation of the local currency as a means of stimulating exports and discouraging imports. It's a well-known prescription of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, the Jamaican economy only provides disappointing testimony to any macroeconomic success from currency devaluation. The ultimate goals of economic policy should be growth and jobs, and exports play a leading role in achieving those goals.

But when one examines the Jamaican economy, we find that the only thing that is growing is imports, because industries are largely dependent on imported raw materials and other components for their production.

Moreover, the effectiveness of devaluation has never spilled over to the ordinary man, and now there are many consumers who are not able to satisfy their basic food and household needs in the face of the sliding dollar. So, even though the IMF seems pleased as punch with the devaluation, there are many with fixed incomes who are feeling the pinch. Frankly, devaluation is not having the desired effect of slowing imports and increasing exports.

Consolidation through expansion

It seems no amount of devaluation will stabilise the economy, for on the other side of the coin, a decrease in imports will also eventually lower the amount of duties and taxes collected. We submit that what is needed is consolidation of the economy through expansion.

Now, if Jamaica were to earnestly introduce a clear strategy for food substitution and increased imports, it could very well become a net food-producing country instead of a net food importer. But this demands a greater focus on agriculture and agricultural education.

It has long been argued that in order to dull the impact of devaluation on the population, there has to be an adjustment in the agricultural trade balance. And where better to start this process than in the schools that specialise in the training of agricultural experts.

But according to Blanford Henry, principal of the Sydney Pagon Agricultural High School in St Elizabeth, there is a serious disconnect between the sector and what is taking place in the agricultural schools.

Mr Henry sees the need for curriculum reform in these schools and believes the Ministry of Agriculture should play a greater role in providing updates to the schools on emerging technologies.

We agree with this position and go further to suggest that it ought to be the ministry's mission, working with all the relevant stakeholders, to respond to phenomena such as climate change by introducing new farm techniques such as drought-tolerant crops and crops that are less dependent on fertilisers. The strategy should be to enable farmers to capture the profit potential that can come from further food processing or value-added elements.

These experiments should rightly be conducted at the agricultural colleges, working in tandem with young farmers.

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