Agriculture “the underutilized tool” in the pursuit of economic freedom, Part I

BY WAZARI JOHNSON

“Agriculture is the greatest and fundamentally the most important of our industries. The cities are but the branches of the tree of national life, the roots of which go deeply into the land.  We all flourish and decline with the farmer.”

These potent words came from Bernard Baruch, and it is my great hope that one day my island home of Jamaica comes to realize the importance of the principle conveyed by these words; any nation that neglects agriculture and the ability to feed itself is surely destined for failure, of the worst sort.

There are so many avenues for people to explore in the agricultural sector, where persons can realize great returns on their investment.  Areas such as: organic farming, horticulture, aquaculture, conventional farming, bee keeping/farming, supplying farm tools and equipment, provision of services such as agricultural techniques consultation, farm labor, cold storage and transportation etcetera, are just a few.

This is not just wishful thinking; there is data that can support my position.  Before the devastating rains of 2017, Jamaica’s agricultural sector, forestry and fisheries grew by 13.5%.  If the sector gets more government support and more people get involved in agriculture professionally, far more growth can be realized in this area.

In the next two editions, I will be looking at some areas of farming opportunities, which can be explored in more detail.

Organic farming:

Organic farming in Jamaica has steadily increased especially in recent years.  Some reasons for this increased food production are:

(1) Market premiums of 2 to 2.5 times the conventional market price

(2) An expansion in the consumer market, with the willingness to pay the higher prices demanded by the organic food producers, due to public awareness of the health benefits of eating organic

(3) An expansion of markets in the developed world where Jamaican farm exports traditionally are targeted

(4) Lower input cost due to this organic nature of food production

I really do think though, to a large degree, people are buying more organic foods because of greater public awareness. It is now better understood that organic foods are a healthier option, in comparison to crops grown under conventional agricultural practices.  In the book ‘Harvest for Hope – A Guide to Mindful Eating,’ Jane Goodall said, “Someday we will look back on this dark era of agriculture and shake our heads.  How could we have believed that it was a good idea to grow our foods with poison?”

Horticulture:

This area of agriculture is filled with possibilities. Over the years, I have attended a lot of craft fairs and trade shows. I have noticed that when there are horticulturalists at these shows and fairs they always do well.  Countries like Colombia, the Netherlands, Kenya and Ethiopia have turned horticulture into an enormous industry. Their flower crops generate billions of dollars, which have created wealth and prosperity for their countries.

There is no reason why we cannot do the same, here in Jamaica. There are so many applications to this area, people primarily think of growing ornamental plants when they think of horticulture, but it goes far beyond that.