VALUE-ADDED agriculture is a buzz phrase that warrants revolutionary ideas pertaining to traditional, neutraceutical, and non-food crops of which turmeric is one — a spice which grows wild in many parts of Jamaica and, more particularly, in the western region of Hanover, St Elizabeth and Westmoreland.

Turmeric, or Curcuma longa from the ginger family Zingiberaceae, flourishes in temperatures between 20 to 30 degrees centigrade with high annual rainfall.

Turmeric is ideal as one of the replacement commercial crops in Hanover for the declining Lucea yam production and for the dying sugar cane production in Hanover, Westmoreland and St Elizabeth.

There are many turmeric products that are in demand on the market and Jamaica could exploit them, but they need high production levels and investment in agro processing facilities; extension delivery at the highest level which Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) is capable of executing; and capital from government, private sector and donor agencies.

The Jamaica spice project funded by US Department of Agriculture via ACDI/VOCA — an international development nonprofit organisation based in Washington, DC, United States — has pledged US$20 million over five years for the development of the spice industry locally for turmeric, ginger and pimento, among others. This project is making grants available to farm groups sothey can produce these spices as a foundation to build a competitive spice industry.

This should be a platform for the Government to provide financial support through matching grants and facilitating the accessibility of loans from financial institutions to interested farmers and agro-processing businesses.

Spices, seasonings and teas could find favour with small, medium and large farmers with a focus on export and because the products have long shelf lives, high value and low volume. Besides, these products are well known to our people and many of them have historic importance as medicinal plants.

This doesn’t mean that the effort in producing roots, tubers, fruits and vegetables must not continue apace. In fact, much more is needed for products like yams, sweet potatoes and ackees because of their import substitution effects and export potential. Total food imports in 2022 was US$1.403 billion and export was US$273 million, creating a huge deficit in the outflow of foreign exchange.

Some of the imports are challenging to competitively produce locally, such as animal feed at US$135.8 million, wheat at US$86.7 million, and rice at US$52.7 million.

The top export in 2022 were yellow yam valued at US$34.9 million, ackees at US$25 million, and coffee at US$20.5 million. The potential for these crops is also growing in the North America market, and new markets are emerging.

The global spices and seasoning market is projected to grow from US$18.47 billion in 2022 to US$25.42 billion in 2025.

This market was valued at US$17.75 billion in 2021 and growth rate is forecast at 5.77 per cent between 2024 to 2028, resulting in a market value of US$61.30 billion by 2028.

The agricultural sector accessed only $146 million for investment in agriculture in 2022, a paltry sum in comparison to other areas of the economy.

There are other neutraceuticals like castor bean production for which has been announced a 500-acre investment. This would create a commercially viable industry in which small producers could collaborate for quality assurance and price stability.

Many manufacturers in Jamaica are seeking raw materials for things like teas, oils and fragrances but our farmers are not properly informed on how to produce nor what to grow.

Peppermint and other mints, along with dandelion, fever grass (lemon grass), chaney root, etc could be significant foreign exchange earners and provide employment for mostly our rural folks.

We are at a point where the agricultural sector needs revolution and new direction but it also needs the investment, policy directives, and willpower that are all paramount to this change.

A significant amount of farm land currently lie idle. In 1978 total land in farming was 533,798 hectares. This fell to 325,810 in 2007. With sugar cane and banana at their lowest production levels in decades, it’s opportune time to hatch new industries to bolster the economy.

Also, it would be pivotal to initiate a tea and neutraceutical project from within to assist in this new-look agriculture, especially since very little is in the recently approved budget for our farmers. This would fit squarely under the
New Face of Food initiative and would occupy pride of place under the export column of the initiative.