THE action of some countries to start hoarding food, raising concerns about a new global food crisis in the wake of supply issues which started with the novel coronavirus pandemic, but have been exacerbated by the Russia-Ukraine war, has prompted a call for Jamaica to revisit the “Grow what you eat, eat what you grow” policy.

Frank James, CEO of GraceKennedy’s domestic foods division, made the call as he delivered a speech last Wednesday at the Jamaica Manufacturers and Exporters Association’s ‘Business Networking Forum’ at the NCB sports club in St Andrew.

“A global food crisis goes beyond pricing and food inflation— it also speaks to availability and reliability,” James told the audience in attendance.

His observation comes as global markets have been left stunned by an escalation in food protectionism due to fears of a food crisis.

Countries such as Spain announced recently that it will allow the rationing of some products by retailers as part of broad measures to cushion the impact of the war. Supermarkets in the UK have started to ration cooking oil. Indonesia has banned cooking oil exports. There are also concerns about the supply of grains. Russia and Ukraine together provide about 30 per cent of the world’s wheat, but since Russian forces launched an invasion of their neighbour in late February, ports and supply routes have been shuttered and sanctions have blocked Russian exports to many of the world’s major economies.

To make matters worse, many of the countries which could help fill those voids — including Hungary, Argentina and Turkey — have placed restrictions on exports of key food products, arguing they need to keep enough supply for their own populations. China has also signalled it will likely hold back on rice exports, another major source of global nutrition, as food insecurity grows.

“Grow what we eat, eat what we grow can’t be just a slogan,” James said as he highlighted how vulnerable Jamaica is to the actions of governments who are hoarding food supplies in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

The call comes as data from the Statistical Institute of Jamaica show food imports into Jamaica reached over US$1.1 billion in 2021, a 20 per cent increase on the value of food imports in 2020. He said he was heartened by the push to reduce the food import bill by 25 per cent in the next three years.

“To do this we need to build a robust agricultural sector by significantly increasing productivity levels and yields, improving reliability of supply and ensuring consistency of quality. “

Similar calls were made during the global food crisis which gripped the world between 2007 and 2009 in the aftermath of the sub-prime mortgage crisis in the US. However, like almost everything, as soon as the situation normalised, talks about Jamaica feeding itself subsided.

“This potential global food crisis must be a call to action for Jamaica to look at how we move towards feeding ourself as a nation, how we drive greater self-reliance in food,” James asserted in a manner which suggested that even if things change in the short term, the policy must still be pursued.

“Government must ensure that the necessary incentives are in place; our development agencies, in collaboration with the commercial banks, must ensure the necessary financing is in place; and through programmes such as the Agro Park initiative and other public-private partnerships, the Government must continue to make land available for agriculture,” he outlined.

He added that it is not enough to just provide land, irrigation and some seeds to a small farmer. “We need to support agriculture through targeted scientific research. Identify those crops and products that Jamaica can compete in, and maximise the use of entities such as Scientific Research Council to enhance our competitiveness by determining methods to increase yields and ensure year-round consistency of supplies and quality.”

Government aside, James said the private sector must get involved in the production of food.

“We need to drive the productivity of the agricultural sector to make it world class and competitive. This means that large players with capital need to invest in agriculture, putting in place state-of-the-art infrastructure, technology, research and development, and agricultural best practices to again ensure consistency in supply, quality and competitive pricing.”

He proposed organising small farmers in these mega agro parks to leverage the investment which they could not make on their own, and said the country should push for the use of technology in farming to increase crop yields through hydroponic and aeroponic techniques which reduce water and energy usage, respectively.

“The Internet of Things is now being used in agriculture. The concept of the ‘connected cow’ is a result of more and more dairy herds being fitted with sensors to monitor health and increase productivity,” he said, pointing to technology at work which Jamaican farmers can adapt.

The use of greenhouses to achieve consistency of supply — no matter the season — was also pointed to as another area of technology to be explored. Combined, it is estimated the entire global greenhouse market currently produces nearly US$350 billion in vegetables annually.

“Now the idea is not to cause panic, but to say that talk of a potential global food crisis is not fake news. It is real and therefore requires the immediate attention of all stakeholders, Government and private sector, to ensure that we mitigate the risks and find the opportunities as a nation.”