HAUGHTON COURT, Hanover — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr has revealed that more women are showing an interest in farming which has traditionally and predominantly been a profession pursued by men.

He said the data was unearthed during an analysis to ensure that the Government was meeting its goal of having at least 20 per cent of its programmes accessed by youth, women and people with disabilities. The numbers, the minister said, showed that the vast majority of people seeking financial and technical agricultural support and land for lease are women.

“So, it will soon be you men and persons with disabilities [who are in the minority] because when we gave the leases, 70 per cent of those leases were to young women. When I look at the information and the request for land and support coming in, I’m telling you more than 50 per cent [are] women. So, we challenge the men, we challenge the parish, we challenge all of us to do better with what we have,” encouraged Charles Jr.

He was addressing the official opening of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) parish office in Hanover on Wednesday.

After the ceremony, he told the media that the data means that “young people and women are seeing Jamaica’s agriculture sector as inclusive”.

“That is a very important part of our goal: sustainability, resilience, a viable and inclusive sector where everybody feels that they can play their part to grow smart and eat smart, which is a good thing,” he added.

The minister also explained that there may be many reasons, such as mindset, why young men are lagging behind. He said some young people are of the view that farming will not give them the opportunity to pursue their preferred lifestyle.

“You may have a young man sitting down on a wall here and he gets a farm work. [He works] hard and he is immediately transformed into an efficient worker. So, sometime it is just the mindset and that is why we are taking the time to have discussions with the farmers to go into the communities to share [their views] on the viability of farming so that young people can see that getting into the sector is an opportunity to put some good money in your pocket to take care of yourself and your family,” stated Charles Jr.

He spoke of the importance of providing training in agriculture at an early age — from the early childhood level.

“It is my intention to see if we can define culture in agriculture where people understand what grow smart/eat smart means, where they understand their role and responsibility in how to grow smart/eat smart and how they can maximise that,” the minister said.

The new RADA parish office was constructed at a cost of $110 million following the breaking of ground in January of 2000. The building replaces a dilapidated structure which was demolished some time before 2017. This was after 15 years of stakeholders lobbying for it to be dismantled.