Follow our agricultural blueprint

Christopher Tufton, GUEST COLUMNIST

Martin Henry's piece in last Sunday's Gleaner titled 'Whither agriculture?' makes interesting reading. I commend him for his usual analytical approach to critical subject matters of national importance.

In this instance, Mr Henry concludes on the rapid demise of our agriculture sector based on a press release from that ministry the week before, commenting on a meeting involving the current portfolio minister, Roger Clarke, and members of Commodity Boards to (among other things, it appears) review the decline in production volumes since 2006 of our critical commodity crops.

Mr Henry concludes, with other supporting background information, that the agriculture sector has been in a state of decline for decades, and he is right.

Challenges but Progress made

At the same time, it is important that any analysis of Jamaica's agricultural sector include a more comprehensive review of a wider policy framework such as trade policy and our macroeconomic environment and, more recently, the many structural changes that have been proposed and in many instances are taking place over the past four years of the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) administration.

If this is done, a number of Mr Henry's concerns, as legitimate as they appear, may not be as relevant. Rather, his focus on encouraging a continuation of this process of transformation would offer greater value to what appears to be his genuine concerns on the need for change.

I agree with Mr Henry that there are many challenges; however, I respectfully suggest to him that significant steps have been taken to begin to address the fundamental causes of the sector's protracted decline. How we proceed from here is a function of how the current Government manages and builds on these initiatives.

During the period of the previous administration, there was expansion in domestic crop production and Jamaican consumers consumed more local produce, as evidenced by the reduction in imports of certain local produce.

Statistical Institute of Jamaica data for the period 2007 to 2010 show that domestic crop production increased 17.1 per cent, or 72,999 tons in absolute terms - the highest in 11 years - while the overall agricultural sector gross domestic product (GDP) grew by 6.5 per cent and land usage increased by approximately 14 per cent, or about 5,000 additional hectares.

Of significance, too, is the fact that volumes increased at a faster rate than land usage, a factor that demonstrates an overall improvement in productivity over the three-year period.

Despite these improvements, the more significant achievement by the ministry during this period was the effort of the team to restructure its operations to focus on the critical areas of extension support, marketing, research and development, and private-sector investments in the industry. These areas of focus were an attempt to overcome some of the very challenges correctly identified by Mr Henry as part of the cause of the decline of the sector over the decades.

Privatisation and Commodity Boards review

Like Mr Henry, there was a recognition under the previous administration that these commodity boards have long outlived their use. The ministry, with the approval of the then Cabinet, concluded a study, with recommendations for the phasing out of these commodity boards and the dismantling of the trade in these products through single entities which control prices.

Already, a number of initiatives had started to liberalise these commodity organisations, and where government had a stake, steps were being taken to open up ownership to private enterprise with an emphasis on value-added products as opposed to commodity trading.

In cocoa, for example, an enterprise team was established to, among other things, liberalise that sector, allowing individual cocoa farmers to market their products to any person or entity at the best price rather than being obligated to sell to the Cocoa Board.

In coffee, we were well advanced in privatising the government-controlled Wallenford Coffee Company after the successful completion of the Mavis Bank Coffee Company. In addition, the Government took significant steps, working with a number of private coffee brands to expand the market for Jamaican coffee in places like China.

As pointed out by Mr Henry, the successful divestment of the government-controlled loss-making sugar cane entities was a positive step, and already we are seeing significant investments in what many had written off as a dying industry. In addition, Mr Henry may recall that a commission of enquiry was conducted in examining the structure of the cane industry and recommendations made towards liberalising and efficiency improvements in the operations and trade in that industry.

The JLP administration is proud to say that this process has been one of the most significant achievement in the agricultural sector during the last four years as it prevented the inevitable collapse of an industry that employed thousands of people and was a burden on taxpayers, and has placed it in the hands of enterprising entrepreneurs who have since pumped millions of dollars and are so far making it work.

The same review is taking place in the banana industry, while the coconut industry was well advanced in abolishing its board, and a major replanting programme, new product development and control of disease like lethal yellowing.

I say all this to make an important point not advanced by Mr Henry's analysis. It's not just the volumes of output of these commodity crops that tell the whole story, but importantly, what has been done to stem the causes of the declines and correct the structural deficiencies of the sector.

The facts are that the last four years have seen significant attempts at addressing the systemic and structural changes of these commodity crops. These changes were premised on recognition or the current changes in the trade environment and the farmers concerns.

Extension Services

On the issue of extension services, during that same period, RADA was significantly expanded with a doubling of extension officers, including marketing and livestock officers in each parish. But beyond that, a new policy was introduced requiring all extension officers to undergo at least 60 hours of training each year to be recertified as extension officers. This was intended to keep these officers current with new developments in their field to ensure they offer value to the farmers.

There was also an ongoing process to equip each officer with extension kits to do their job in the field, like collecting data or samples of crops. Most extension officers now have technology devices that allow them to upload and transmit information from the farmers they visit.

We even took steps to address the sick soil claims by Mark Brooks by establishing a committee, at one stage chaired by Mr Brooks himself, to assess and come up with an approach to the problem. The result was a manual to guide extension officers and the sector towards soil testing, and efforts were advanced in equipping the labs in the ministry at Bodles and Rural Physical Planning to enable them to conduct tests for soil-borne diseases. The current administration must build on that. Support the expansion and expertise of our extension services, as most of our farmers are not formally trained and need this type of support.

Research and Development

As Mr Henry suggests, it is true that the Bodles Research Station has seen better days. Lack of resources and limited emphasis on research, over many years, have affected the capacity of that institution. However, one should note that the research landscape has changed significantly since Bodles was first launched. The previous administration took a strategic view that Bodles should be viewed as one piece of a greater research community, both local and abroad.

This is why we launch the Centre for Excellence for Advancement in Agriculture (CEATA) as a cross-agency unit geared towards coordinating research that was taking place at the various universities and other institutions, and tapping into wherever there was research being done that could be applied to our agricultural challenges in the field. Currently, CEATA is housed at the University at the West Indies.

In addition, work was under way to converting the Elim Agricultural School in St Elizabeth into an advance-level training and research institution focusing on crop and livestock along the value chain and benchmarked against international best practices.

value-added product

I agree entirely with Mr Henry that as a country with a great flavour profile and brand recognition, much more should be done to support and promote value-added, branded products. This is truly where our future lies. We must shed our commodity mentality and encourage our entrepreneurs to create brands that can be marketed around the globe.

The previous administration supported a number of initiatives to encourage the integration of primary production into value-added activities in areas such as hot peppers. Partnering with farmers and the agro-processors, construction started in greenhouse technology, hot pepper nurseries and mash facilities, vegetable packaging houses and banana ripening houses. These have all been part of the post-harvest thrust embarked on by the ministry. It is important that this Government continue this process.

Protecting our brands

The previous administration was also in the process of fast-tracking efforts to protect the country's intellectual property and local brands through the official designation of critical products with geographical indication origin. We are well advanced to making Jamaica Jerk, Jamaica Rum and Blue Mountain Coffee names that can only be legally designated to local brands under geographical indication laws. This will give our value-added export products a uniqueness in the international market place.

So again, Mr Henry, the blueprint is there. Let's encourage the new minister to follow through!

Other initiatives include an agriculture insurance scheme sponsored by the World Bank which was in its pilot stage; land reform; trade policy review in support of local production such as the Diary Development Board and the Agricultural Development Fund and expansion in drip irrigation for better water management.

The Opposition stands ready to engage in this debate. We admit there are challenges remaining, but also feel that we left a solid platform on which to build.

Senator Chris Tufton, PhD, is a former minister of agriculture and fisheries. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com.