Readers’ reactions

Farm worker shortage worsens

Y Jamaica no consider to import some new leaders. – @Phillip60075634

Labourers leave the country quarterly to go to other countries to work where they are compensated. So if you wanna keep those workers you need to compensate them.– @ShadowMonnarch

Government fi pay the people them good wages and place more emphasis on agriculture and small farmers like price a chemical, ppl getting them goods sell when reaping etc. Government can do a lot but them nah dweet so the problem ago still deh here. – @roshane18r

We really come back with this labour shortage boogeyman again? This time it is farm workers? So let’s get this straight. We “export” farm workers to Canada and USA and must turn around “import” farm workers from God knows where? Supmn cudda eva guh suh on God’s Green Earth? – @Zemi66

There are workers! You guys just need to pay them what you’ll pay the ones you are looking to import. – @RealRich007

The authorities need to visit all our communities or run an aggressive ad campaign and prove that they’ve exhausted all efforts to find labour and make public the salary for these jobs because there’s no way we are short of labour no way. – @Prep876

You all keep pushing this absurd narrative to meet your political agenda. Too many Jamaicans are underemployed. Being a windscreen wiper is not meaningful employment. Working two or three days per week is not enough. Fix this before we talk about importing labour. – @AgyapongRushell

You have workers you just need to pay them better. – @Xedos3

Cut this nonsense out forthwith! The answer to the agricultural sector is automation and machinery. Import labour to cut cane and debush when machines exist for that very purpose - look here nuh. – @aneikaangus

I see that the new narrative being espoused is “import labour.” Why not “pay labour more attractive wages?” – @Mellumjr

Winston you surely know better than this! Buy couple machines and go from farm to farm. The few cane cutters that are left can do the fringes. – @stretchwise

Suh wamp’m to the yute dem weh wah work? Pay them more attractive wages and si how much turn out. – @DreadWeirdo

Pay Jamaican workers same money you will pay the imported labour and you might see more interest. Put carriage before the horse. – @mhz_legendary_writer

Readers’ reactions sourced from The Gleaner’s X, formerly Twitter, and Instagram pages. Compiled by Khanique McDaniel.