Contrary to the popularly held view that prostitution is the world’s oldest profession, most historians have contended that farming (agriculture) preceded that particular activity and some have even gone further to suggest that women were, in fact, the first farmers, in that, while the men were out busily hunting for meat, their female mates were tending to the fields or taking care of livestock.

In today’s Jamaica, farming is a widespread activity involving both men and women, with the latter showing a great deal of resilience and stick-to-itiveness as is the case with that celebrated St Elizabeth female farmer who dared to ask Prime Minister Andrew Holness for a donkey to help transport her produce along not easily traversed roads. More power to her!

In the meantime, it can be said without much contradiction that a nation that is unable to sufficiently feed its people will never be economically independent and, sadly, Jamaica is in such a quandary. According to a Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Executive Summary on Jamaica’s National Food and Nutrition Security Policy, “Low food production and high dependency on food imports combine to confront Jamaica with an unprecedentedly high and rising food import bill (FIB) and a worrying food security vulnerability to external economic shocks and climate change. Most of the food consumed in Jamaica is imported either raw or semi-processed for final processing, while a small and declining portion comes from national/regional production. At the same time a large and rising proportion of the final cost of that food to consumers is taken up by services – manufacturing, packaging, distribution, and marketing costs.”

The war in Ukraine and natural disasters, such as hurricanes and prolonged drought caused mainly by factors relating to climate change, is most surely forcing this nation to come face to face with the harsh consequences of its high dependence on food imports. This situation, says the executive summary, also renders Jamaica more vulnerable to external economic shocks. So when, for example, there is drought or severe flooding in certain countries that are part of our supply chain, the prices of wheat, corn, and sugar jump to new highs on the world market, leading to similar increases in the national food import bill. “And the cost of local chicken and domestically produced livestock soars because Jamaica imports the raw materials (corn, coarse grains, and soybeans) that are the basis of the animal feeds on which they are fed.”

The late Michael “Joshua” Manley was on the right path way back in the 70s when he introduced the “eat what you grow” campaign and encouraged local farmers to produce more. Older Jamaicans will recall the Hounslow in St Elizabeth and Mafoota in St James experimentations which ultimately failed because of poor management and the harsh reality that the average Jamaican sees farming as a degrading and non-profitable pastime reminiscent of slavery. Let’s face it, farming is hard work, involving, many times, blood, sweat, and tears. It means getting dirty and sweaty and it also means being the victim of praedial larceny!

In the case of Hounslow and Mafoota, it is alleged that many young men who were lured into farming ended up using the funds they received to buy fancy motorcycles, ‘profile’ in their communities to attract girls, and plant ganja at a time when that was a totally illegal activity, but then it was far more lucrative than growing dasheen and cassava or bananas. Of course, given the rugged individualism of most Jamaicans, farming in a cooperative setting was a no-no from the start.

And the harsh truth is that farming on small plots of land cannot collectively produce enough food to feed the nation. Edward Seaga pursued another path with aloe vera in Trelawny and that Springs Plain irrigation fiasco in Clarendon which, again, exposed the lack of political will and private sector involvement to give agriculture that quantum leap it is yet to receive.

Meanwhile, it pains my heart, when I drive around Jamaica, to see the thousands of acres of arable lands lying idle. Then there is the recurring travesty of putting up housing schemes on lands that are more suitable for farming. Many decades ago, in the 70s, when the late Cuban President Fidel Castro visited Jamaica, he lamented this practice and warned against it, but, alas, it continues to this day unabated.

Needless to say, neither the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) nor the People’s National Party (PNP) has so far come up with a land use policy that prioritises agriculture, and in the long run we are going to pay the price for this visionless approach. The bottom line is that we must be able to feed ourselves and stop being so dependent on foreign imports. Of course, the national tragedy is that most Jamaicans have foreign tastes! Just look at how well the fast food establishments are doing. When last has the average Jamaican enjoyed a fully Jamaican home-cooked meal?

The time has come for Jamaica to make food security a top priority. And in this context, the farmer must be put on a pedestal and given special treatment as well as incentives. Praedial larceny, which continues to be a major deterrent and turn-off for many people who would want to go into farming, must be comprehensively addressed in a sustained way, not in the hit-or-miss approach that has been adopted over the years.

Every school should have a farm and students should be encouraged to experience farming in a real way. Science and technology must be fully utilised to provide the best farming practices that can produce substantial yields cost effectively and agriculture must be given the kind of budgetary allocation and government attention that will prevent it from remaining the Cinderella of the Jamaican economy. In the final analysis, respect is due to our farmers.

After all, many of our successful Jamaicans in various fields of endeavours owe it to those parents who toiled on their farms to make enough money from their crops and livestock to send them to high school, college, and university. Farmers are the bedrock of this nation and we must show them that we value their contribution to this nation.

And so, as we approach another general election, let us insist that both the JLP and PNP present to this nation a Food Security and Nutrition Policy that is visionary, practical, and profitable. Time come!

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full time in Jamaican media for the past 47 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.