Rastafarian elder wants former sugar cane lands given to high schools for agriculture

WESTERN BUREAU:

Rastafarian elder Ras Iyah V, former chairman of the Westmoreland Hemp and Ganja Farmers Association, wants the Government to redistribute those lands formerly used for sugar cane farming to high schools across the parish to expand their farming programme. The aim is to allow the schools to be able to produce more for local consumption and export.

Ras Iyah V believes that such an initiative would significantly reduce the county’s agricultural import bill, which now stands at just over US$1 billion. This figure represents a slight reduction in the first nine months of 2023.

“I am calling on the Government to ensure that agriculture is enforced in the schools and that land, especially the old sugar lands, should be given to schools such as Frome Technical High School, Grange Hill High School, Little London High School and The Manning’s School, where they can expand their agricultural offerings and encourage more students into the business of agriculture,” he said.

“All of these schools should be given at least 50 acres of land to enhance what they currently have,” he stated in a Gleaner interview.

According to the ganja advocate and former member of the Cannabis Licensing Authority, not all students are going to come out with 10 and 15 CXC subjects, and educators should help to guide students’ interest in science and the business of agriculture.

“While they will not all come out with high academic results, it doesn’t mean he or she can’t be productive; and agriculture is one of the best ways to embrace these students’ interests, not just to plant food, but to create an agro-industry programme to ensure our people can benefit from cheaper and better food to consume,” Ras Iyah V opined.

He noted that agriculture is too important for Jamaica to have so many lands sitting idle, when they can be used for growing other crops to feed locals and the rest of the world.

AGRICULTURE SHOULD BE COMPULSORY

Data provided by the Statistical Institute of Jamaica show that food imports from January to September last year was valued at US$1.038 billion, down slightly from the US$1.04 billion during the same period the previous year.

In that period, food was the third-largest import into Jamaica behind oil and gas, which was valued at US$1.8 billion, and machinery and transport equipment, valued at US$1.2 billion over the period. That was 17.5 per cent of the total import bill for Jamaica, which reached US$5.9 billion up to September.

Jamaica recorded an increase in food exports by 12 per cent, reaching US$225 million over the period January to September 2023, up from US$201 million.

“Why should we be importing millions in US dollars’ worth of food from countries that don’t have the climatic environment as we do in Jamaica?” Ras Iyah V questioned.

“I think agriculture (education) should be compulsory, up to grade 11 in high schools. This would help to instil an understanding of the importance of agriculture as a business and its global impact on food security,” he added.

Trevine Lawrence-Donaldson, principal of Grange Hill High School, said the call is important, given the importance of agriculture.

“At this time, based on our land space, we don’t have a challenge in terms of the need for more land. For us it would be a case of needing help to develop the infrastructure we have for agriculture,” Lawrence-Donaldson said.

She noted that over the years, a reasonable number of graduates have enrolled at Knockalva Polytechnic College and the College of Agriculture Science and Education.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com