Contain the food import bill – Cousins

Opposition Spokesman on Agriculture Lothan Cousins has blasted the Government for its failure to contain the country’s food import bill and perceived mishandling of water resources.

Cousins said that a US$97-million increase in Jamaica’s food import bill in 2021 was unacceptable.

“The recently released International Merchandise Trade data for January to December 2021 has revealed a disappointing scenario and has left me in pain for my country,” he said during his contribution to the Sectoral Debate on Tuesday.

“The previous record value of US$1.025 billion of food imports in 2019 was shattered in 2021 by a new record value of food imports amounting to US$1.122 billion.”’

Cousins accused the Holness administration of swinging open the floodgates and questioned its stewardship of the agriculture portfolio.

The spokesman contended that more needs to be done to the fisheries sector, as over 60 per cent of aquaculture ponds to grow local Tilapia are inactive. He argued that uncorrected problems with fish feed, insufficient attention given to technology to increase stocking density, and the inadequacy of fingerlings for the restocking of ponds are factors hurdling the country’s inability to breed said fish.

Cousins cited Jamaica’s technical management of crop care as another area of grave concern.

73 PER CENT SELF-SUFFICIENCY

“In 2021, madam speaker, the country imported 6,096,030 kilogrammes of Irish potato. This figure represented 73.32 per cent self-sufficiency. In 2014, we achieved a 90 per cent self-sufficiency standing,” he explained.

He added: “It is not comforting to know that we achieved a ninety per cent sufficiency level in 2014, and declined so badly, that we had to import the equivalent of 206 40-foot containers of Irish potatoes in 2021.”

“Irish potato, madam speaker, could be bought at $396 per kilogramme in 2018, but by 2021, the average yearly price topped $1,251 per kilogramme, increasing by 216 per cent,” explained Cousins.

Cousins charged, too, that the state-owned National Water Commission (NWC) is “desperately in need of a serious intervention”, adding that the Government has mishandled the water portfolio.

“The portfolio seems to be bouncing around with no clear policy objective or decisions,” asserted Cousins.

He blasted the leadership of the NWC, adding that employees are subjected to work under what he described as some of the most challenging conditions. Said conditions, he said, were grounds for the recent industrial action taken by NWC staff.

“They are often poorly equipped, and, in our estimation, are grossly underpaid for the levels of sacrifice. This, madam speaker, culminated in the recent strike activities by workers, resulting in countless communities being deprived of the valuable resource,” he said, adding, “There seems to be a crisis of leadership at the entity.”

Cousins stressed that greater efforts must be channelled into the agricultural sector to reduce the country’s food import bill for 2022.

“I beg the minister and this administration to let us not have a repetition of the 2021 import performance in our agricultural sector ever again. Local agriculture must be incentivised and modernised, and on that, we cannot compromise,” said Cousins.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com