Communication from Government is what is needed to get Jamaicans to understand the world food crisis, as well as the importance of them including locally grown staples in their diet.

This, says a group of influential women who gathered at the Observer’s headquarters last week, is essential to getting the message across to all sectors of Jamaicans so that the country’s consciousness can shift to recognise that it’s a difficult time for everyone around the world, and that much has to change so the effects to the country are minimal.

The women were hosted by Observer chairman Gordon ‘Butch’ Stewart at a special luncheon, where they aired their views on various issues affecting the country.

Among those issues discussed was the suggestion by Agriculture Minister Christopher Tufton that Jamaicans eat what they grow, and in particular, use of the staple cassava to replace rice, which could be in short supply.

But the reaction to Tufton’s message was harsh, the women say, not necessarily because cassava wasn’t a viable option, but because of the way Tufton presented the message – making it appear as if only a certain class of Jamaicans would eat cassava.

Among the women in attendance were Thalia Lyn, CEO of Island Grill; Lorna Myers, CEO of Restaurants of Jamaica; Audrey Marks, CEO of Paymaster; Becky Stockhausen, head of the American Chamber of Commerce of Jamaica; Minna Israel, managing director of RBTT; Yendi Phillips, Miss Jamaica (World) 2007; Naomi Francis of Nationwide Radio; Senator Dorothy Lightbourne, justice minister and attorney-general; Cora Ann Robertson Sylvester, CEO Seaboard Jamaica; Pat Ramsay of the University of Technology; Jean Lowrie-Chin, head of PRO Communications and Observer columnist; Tamara Scott-Williams, head of Scott/Williams & Associates and Observer columnist; and environmentalist Diana McCaulay.

“Government has a very hard pitch to start out on, just about everything that can go wrong is going wrong globally,” Marks said. “But they have to talk to people so they understand the impact of oil prices, etc. The difficulty is to manage communication at this time.”

The problem they list is that even though some people understand that the food crisis is a world phenomenon, others do not. And then, the women explained, there has been no public service announcements surrounding the issue, which makes the average Jamaican unable to understand exactly what the world food crisis means for them.

“I believe in public education. No one is saying to the public where we are, where we are going and where we need to go,” said Jamaica Employers’ Federation President Audrey Hinchcliffe. “There has to be education. Government needs to have continuous public education.”

Regarding the use of cassava, the women admitted that the staple can be used in a variety of ways, but its promotion wasn’t launched the right way.

“The mindset has to change, our attitude towards ground provisions has to change,” Phillips said.

“Part of the education should be about the different types of cassava. Cassava is not new to us,” Hinchcliffe said.

The women pointed to the different varieties of the end product of cassava, including its use in cassava flour, bammies, and tapioca. The Scientific Research Council also introduced a cassava pancake mix that was presented at a previous Observer Food Awards.

“And we can’t just promote cassava, we have to promote carrots, sweet potato, make it sexy and attractive [to eat ground provisions],” Israel said.

Suggestions were made that the gap between the uptown and downtown usage of cassava has to be bridged – to present it properly as rice’s replacement and usable by all.

The women committed to use the resources they have to see how they can make the promotion and use of cassava priority as their positions allow. Stewart committed the Observer to dedicating as much space as possible to the promotion.