From common sense wisdom there is the saying, “Do not place all your eggs in one basket.” That simple saying has been taken and made a tag line for financial advisors. Simply put, they advise not to concentrate investments in one portfolio, regardless of how secure it may appear, as with life’s uncertainties and vulnerabilities, everything could be lost.

As a nation, we have been traumatised by the impact of Hurricane Melissa, and are seeking to be resilient in facing the overwhelming damage it has created, primarily in southern and western parts of the island. There have been allegations of St Elizabeth having received prejudicial treatment in the initial thrust to create access to communities and the distribution of relief supplies. I will not attempt to make any judgement regarding the validity of such assertions. What I can say, however, is that it is clear that in all of the discussions regarding the impact of the hurricane on the life and economy of the nation, and the path to resilience, St Elizabeth, as the food basket of the nation, has occupied a central place. In a sense it stands as a compliment to the people of St Elizabeth for their sense of industry and unequalled contribution to food production for the people of this nation and the thriving hospitality industry, even as they and the people of all affected communities are deserving of every expression of empathy and tangible support that the nation has to offer.

At the same time, far from being a compliment from which we can take comfort, the focus on St Elizabeth also points to a lack of vision and strategic positioning for dealing with food security for this nation. So, working with the same game plan, we will call upon the resilience of the people of the parish, and we will put all the resources available to get things back to business as usual as soon as possible. However, the destruction of St Elizabeth stands as a paradigm of what food insecurity looks like, as we will now look to importation to fill not just the gap, but as part of a national crisis of increasing levels of food importation to deal with national demand that far outstrips our current capacity to satisfy.

As a country that faces the possibility of hurricanes each year and the growing disastrous force of these brought on by climate change, is there anything more that we can do to protect our food supply?

Not long ago there was a release coming out of a Caricom gathering which advanced the idea of a food security strategy for the region and included, as I recall, specific mention of some countries and the part they would play in implementing the strategy. I recall that there was specific mention of Guyana as a place of significant agricultural land and the crops that they would continue to produce in increasing quantities to bolster regional food security. I am not aware of the nation having received any update on where we are in relation to the strategy for food security, or whether we have even bought into the proposal.

The nation is already importing too much of its food consumption, and it is not enough to keep making great speeches highlighting the reality. There needs to be a national strategy for food security that is based on consensus with a broad cross section of stakeholders and representative civil groups. It cannot be the case that this is a matter for tinkering with by each change of Government and that the minister of agriculture reconstructs. This will require those in leadership of this nation to take some bold steps and which may be one of the things that Melissa has forced upon us.

The nation needs a national plan which designates areas as agricultural zones way beyond the kind of tinkering which has taken place over the years to apply the “agricultural” label to underutilised tracks of land held by significant landowners as it relates to the taxation of their holdings while they hang on for speculation purposes.

As I have pointed out on previous occasions, after a visit to St Elizabeth some time ago it was pointed out to me that several acres of formerly productive agricultural plots are being converted to residential use without any reference to its implication for our food security by the national planning authorities, even as some plots are being subdivided as legacy to children in what then becomes units which have little productive capacity or are just left fallow.

Before St Elizabeth became the unchallenged food basket of the nation, producing vegetables and fruits for the hospitality industry and the local market, there were other communities, such as those in the hills of St Andrew, for example, Mavis Bank, Irish Town, Woodford, Chestervale, and others, that were producing vegetables and fruits that were treated almost as exotic produce and which were available in the Papine Market. On a visit to some of these areas some months ago I searched the hills to see what had become of these vegetable cultivations. The resident who was accompanying us could only take us to one or two strategic positions to point us to a few plots on some hillsides, even as he bemoaned the agricultural decline that has taken place over the years.

Some days ago there was an interview with a young medical doctor on RJR, who pointed to the desire of many youngsters to become doctors because of the perception some have that it is a pathway to earn good money. He made it clear, however, that many in agriculture make more than doctors. The reality is that there are also young people, many with tertiary education, who would like to venture into agriculture, but do not have the resources. In this regard, it is clear also that the nation must resist the attempts to turn the best of our agricultural lands of the Liguanea plains into residential and commercial developments. It is a travesty to see the lands of Bodles, that emblem of Jamaica’s pioneering and creative agricultural minds and skills, being turned into residential developments, because of the influence of big developers. These lands that have had irrigation infrastructure, and offer the ability for the use of technology from the clearing of the land to the harvesting of crops, have a potential that no hillside farmer of the east with the best of intention in the world can match.

And to try and justify this use of agricultural lands for residential use when much of Kingston is derelict and in need of demolition and redevelopment may make economic sense to those who benefit financially from such land use, but it is not in the interest of the nation. Additionally, opting for the use of agricultural lands for residential purpose is also proving to be less than the dream some of the purchasers had cherished, as they now find the daily travel and the traffic a stressful experience. Some are looking to rent back in Kingston, or stay with a relative or friend during the workweek, recognising that what was the cheaper option is more costly emotionally, physically, and economically for those who still have to work in Kingston.

After Hurricane Gilbert a number of churches within the religious tradition to which I belong suffered significant damage, far less than is the case with Melissa. At the time it was evident that some of these churches did not have any insurance coverage as it had reached beyond their capacity to maintain the cost involved, even as it was also evident, that among those insured, the level of coverage that they carried, and the benefits to be derived, was minimal when the average clause was applied by the insurance companies. It was also clear that there would be a significant increase in the cost of insurance and which would now put it outside of even some of those who were covered in the past. It was clear that there needed to be another option that could afford some measure of security and payout in the event of future hurricanes or other catastrophes.

The decision was taken to seek consultation and advice. It was clear that any internal option being considered by the church at this time was of a high-risk nature, at least for the short term, as there was a concern as to what would happen if there was another hurricane in the following year. Arising from the meeting, it was decided that, based on the analysis of the ratio of those buildings that suffered damage to those that were left intact, we can look at a plan for contributions of congregations to a common pool of funds, as it is unlikely that another hurricane is going to create mass collective damage given the distribution across the spread of the island and among hills and valleys. Today, most churches do not have insurance coverage beyond public liability, but they do have access to some funding from a common pool in the event of damage.

The fundamental principle in this approach to protection against disasters is that they are inevitable and always potential exploiters of vulnerability, but by virtue of the diverse nature of the spread of the units there is protection against a situation of a total wipeout. That we are able to call on the farmers in the east of the island to step up production validates the principle and the need for a good agricultural strategy that takes seriously food security and our vulnerability as a nation to natural disasters. It appears that an agricultural plan for the nation that affirms the best that it currently has in St Elizabeth, while re-designating and activating food production zones across the country, would less likely create the kind of vulnerability to which we are currently exposed.

Both Beryl and Melissa have hit with crushing force the same areas in consecutive years, while other sections of the island fared better in impact. This leads me to think that, as a start, more needs to be made of the fertile Liguanea Plains as a zone of agricultural production, rather than as the playground of developers of concrete.

Howard Gregory is retired Anglican archbishop of the Province of the West Indies and lord bishop of Jamaica.