Dear Editor,

Jamaicans are very smart and always finding ingenious ways of beating the most secure systems — not to say that is a good thing. We are an innovative people.

The Government and private sector are unable to provide enough jobs for the unemployed population, but yet our people have continued to press them for jobs. Have we become so dependent on handouts that we are unable to use the creative instinct we have to pursue other modes of employment?

Jamaica is not short of land space, but instead it is short of those willing to work hard for their own upliftment. Over the past weekend, I travelled to the breadbasket parish and could not help but ponder as to why more Jamaicans don’t farm. From as far back as the Tainos farming has always provided not only for the farmer but the wider society. Farming is not just toiling the soil, it is a career; whether you plant crops or rare livestock it is an honest and rewarding venture.

The Government continues to push that we grow what we eat and eat what we grow, but does that call continue to fall on deaf ears? Some have answered the call and are reaping the reward. Not only do these few have food to put on their table, but they also have enough to sell and in doing so earn to fill other needs. Let’s not depend on handouts, but work together and for each other.

To those of us who are employed I urge you to consider this as a way forward. Let me say to our young men and women nothing is wrong with farming — you might be surprised at the sense of fulfillment that you feel to know you are feeding a nation. Moreover, it doesn’t have to be farming, just keep an open mind in any skill area.

On a number of occasions we see a story of someone who has defied the odds and not only survived but has excelled. Let such a story inspire us to become a success story.

Kenroy Edwards

kenroy.edwards1@gmail.com

kennykae.blogspot.com/