The prime minister’s clarion call for economic transformation marks a watershed moment for Jamaica.

Breaking free from six decades of anaemic 1-2 per cent growth, the nation stands at a crossroads where stability must now give way to robust expansion. Yet nowhere is this imperative more pressing than in agriculture, a sector whose decline since Independence in 1962 tells a story of unrealised potential and frustrated initiatives.

While much of the ensuing discourse has centred on monetary and fiscal parameters, the truth cuts deeper. As the biblical wisdom warns against pouring new wine into old wineskins, Jamaica’s governmental apparatus — particularly its agricultural institutions — requires fundamental reform rather than mere policy adjustments.

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining (MoAF&M) and its subsidiary agencies have become mired in a perpetual cycle of disaster response, their energy consumed by recovery programmes following adverse weather events. This reactive posture has left little room for strategic growth planning, resulting in sector-wide stagnation — with only the poultry industry and, to a limited extent, the banana subsector showing signs of vitality.

This chronic malaise stems from multiple sources, not least of which is the state of agricultural education. Institutions like the College of Agriculture Science and Education (CASE), Knockalva Polytechnic, and Ebony Park — the primary talent pipelines for MoAF&M — require urgent curriculum reform to boost productivity and prepare graduates for the challenges of modern agriculture.

The ministry’s agencies themselves bear their share of responsibility. Key organisations like the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), Jamaica Agricultural Commodity Regulatory Authority (JACRA), Agriculture Investment Corporation (AIC), and SCJ Holdings Limited have failed to initiate growth-focused reforms.

RADA, the nation’s premier extension service provider, exemplifies this institutional drift — operating under temporary leadership for an extended period, with three CEO changes in five years betraying a deeper malaise in agricultural governance.

The leadership vacuum extends beyond RADA’s revolving door. Most MoAF&M agencies are now helmed by individuals without agricultural training or, more troublingly, by political appointees — a situation that speaks volumes about the sector’s diminishing returns. This exodus of agricultural expertise has created a self-perpetuating cycle: as graduates from CASE and other institutions see limited career prospects, the brightest minds increasingly shun agriculture as a profession.

The land management crisis compounds these institutional weaknesses. Three separate agencies — AIC, SCJ Holdings, and the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) — wrestle with land allocation responsibilities, creating a bureaucratic maze that has left farmers trapped in unsuitable conditions. The results are stark: fertile class one agricultural lands at Richmond Landlovery in St Ann are repurposed for housing and hotels, while farmers are relegated to rocky terrain at Faith Pen, their livelihoods further compromised by infrastructure projects like the North-South Highway.

The numbers tell their own story. AIC oversees nine agro parks spanning 3,351 hectares, yet only 722 hectares were under production according to 2015 data — the most recent available in what appears to be a deliberate shroud of secrecy. These parks, intended as hubs of intensive agricultural production with comprehensive support services, have failed to deliver on their promise of optimising productivity, as evidenced by rising food prices and an expanding import bill.

SCJ Holdings, perhaps the most crucial player in Jamaica’s agricultural future, manages the remnants of what was once a thriving sugar industry. From over 350,000 acres of sugar lands in the 1970s, significant portions have been lost to housing and non-agricultural development. While the agency lacks investment capital, it controls the key to agricultural expansion: access to land. Yet its rush to accommodate housing developers stands in stark contrast to its tepid response to serious farmers’ needs.

This institutional drift traces back to the 1980s, when MoAF&M was transformed from a production-focused powerhouse into a mere regulatory body. The ministry once orchestrated a robust network of commodity boards and cooperatives for sugar, cocoa, coffee, banana, and pimento. However, International Monetary Fund (IMF) dictates forced market liberalisation without adequate farmer protections, reducing a once-vital ministry to an employment station, notable mainly for its disaster mitigation efforts.

The path forward demands more than incremental change. While farmers stand ready to answer the prime minister’s call for economic transformation, this pivot requires a fundamental reimagining of MoAF&M’s role and capabilities. The ministry must evolve from its current state as a passive regulatory body back into the dynamic engine of agricultural production it once was — but modernised for today’s challenges.

The time for half measures has passed. Jamaica’s agricultural sector requires a revolution, not mere reform. This transformation must begin with a strategic overhaul of land management policies, ensuring that prime agricultural lands serve their highest purpose rather than falling prey to short-term development gains. The current system, which condemns farmers to marginal lands while prime acreage goes to non-agricultural uses, represents a failure of both policy and vision.

MoAF&M’s agencies need more than new leadership — they need new purpose. The agro parks programme must be revitalised with transparent reporting and clear performance metrics. SCJ Holdings must prioritise agricultural development with the same urgency it shows for housing projects. RADA requires stable, qualified leadership that can restore its role as a true partner to Jamaica’s farmers.

Most critically, the ministry must reclaim its position as the mitochondrion of agricultural production, moving beyond its current reactive stance of disaster mitigation to proactive sector development. This transformation requires not just structural change but a fundamental shift in mindset — from managing decline to driving growth.

The prime minister’s clarion call for economic pivot resonates particularly strongly in agriculture, where decades of institutional drift have left a once-proud sector struggling for relevance. But for this call to transcend rhetoric and achieve real change, it must be accompanied by bold, systematic reform of MoAF&M and its agencies. Only then can Jamaica’s agricultural sector break free from its six-decade growth trap and realise its full potential as an engine of national prosperity.

Lenworth Fulton is a former head of Jamaica Agricultural Society, 4H Clubs and Rural Agricultural Development Authority.

Lenworth Fulton.