Jamaica, IMF, China and the Environment

Will Jamaica ever progress as a country, can Jamaica ever achieve any sort of economic or social progress under our current political system. I am beginning to believe we are stuck in quicksand, caught in a quagmire and being pulled with equal force from opposite ends. Our Political class and their operatives are clearly in this for selfish reasons only, the Jamaican people for the most part represents only a means to an end, we are the football on the field of life being kicked every which way till Sunday.

The purpose of all political oppositions, regardless of which party forms that opposition, is to oppose anything and everything proposed by the sitting Government regardless of which party forms that Government because the concept of bipartisan agreements, in the national interest simply does not exist in Jamaica, the Jamaican people practice and mastered the fine art of being like crab in a barrel. The PNP and their operatives when in opposition opposed every single thing the JLP Government did and the JLP and their operatives now in opposition is opposing every single thing the PNP Government is doing.

Everybody in Jamaica wants foreign Investments, they will go on and on at length about how the Government needs to attract foreign investment and foreign capital to our shores. But they only want foreign investment when their party is in power. If their party is not in power then foreign Investment is not called foreign investment but foreign sellout as they declare “look how the government a gi weh Jamaica”… The fact is, a country like Jamaica will never get foreign investment solely on our terms, we are not that cute, the Government must negotiate with potential investors and we must decide if the terms are beneficial to Jamaica and we must be prepared to walk away, if they are not.

With regards to the IMF, I have never read anywhere that said an IMF delegation came to Jamaica and beg our Government, pleaded with them on bended knees, to pretty please sign a loan agreement and they will give us money. I remember when it was announced in the 1990's that Jamaica was finally IMF free, that we had terminated our agreement with the fund, removed the shackles and regulated them to that dark place in our history.

After which we carried on without the IMF for several years until after the general election of 2007 when the new JLP Government declared that they were going back to the IMF to seek a loan. I remember my shock and horror when I first heard the news. I walked around and debated with everyone why this was a bad idea, stated that I had lived through one IMF agreement after another and how it was like hell on earth but the young pups was not having it. They proclaimed that an IMF loan was cheap, easy money and that is what Jamaica needed to recapitalize. I tried to tell them that IMF loans are never cheap, the terms are always harsh and the hurdles high but they dismissed me.

The Bruce Golding Government then signed their IMF agreement and the IMF deposited 400 million United States dollars to Jamaica's account, even before the first IMF test. It was like a carnival on that day as JLP supporters sing praises and rejoiced from the mountain tops, “Saved at last, thank god almighty we are saved at last”, even young PNP supporters were happy as pigs in shit because they also had never experienced IMF Austerity before. Another 400+ million United States dollars was also deposited from various other international financial institutions based on agreements between these institutions and the IMF, Jamaica was rolling in money, like a crack whore with free access to drugs in a Colombian drug lab.

The exchange rate which was rising at the time before the huge IMF financial payout immediately began to fall as the supply of borrowed United States dollars flood the market. Imports became cheaper and cheaper as Jamaicans looked to the heavens and shouted “Thank You Fada!” as they splurged like there was no tomorrow. They imported everything and anything, from Human Feces Fertilizer, to Range Rover, Blackberry, to Beef patty, Banana Chips, Hennessey, onion and red peas not to mention water from Trinidad. Given the choice between eating local food and eating imported food, Jamaicans will almost always choose imported food and it got so bad that no one was buying food from Jamaica’s farmers anymore. There was a glut of cheap local food on the market as the people imported Kale and Jolly Green Giant spinach over home grown callaloo. It was then that the Minister of Agriculture decided to start the “Eat what you grow program” to help out the farmers…

However when the time came for the then government to implement the IMF agreement they choked, I can only assume that the Government either did not read the agreement or had no intention of implementing anything, like a purse snatcher in a crowded market, it seems they intended to grab the money and make a run for it. I will never understand reading an agreement, signing an agreement and then breaking the agreement you singed but that is what the Government did. I would think that if the agreement was not to your liking then you would not have signed it BUT the pull of cheap US $800 Million was too great and election was upon them and with US $800 million the Government thought they could create a matrix like illusion of progress in order to win the next general election. Anyway Jamaica failed their first IMF test and the entire agreement broke down, the general election was called and the JLP lost, so out went one set of morons and in comes the next set of idiots.

The Peoples National Party promised the people a different path but ended up right back on the same path as the previous Government, back into bed with the IMF, on bended kneels asking for forgiveness and a new deal with a promise to implement the agreement to the letter this time around. By now the IMF had learned a valuable lesson based on their experience with the last Government... that you never, ever, ever give Jamaica a big lump sum of money based on promises..., no big money let off. This time it was going to be different, the IMF would deliver the money in small drips but only after Jamaica jump over a series of hurdles and water obstacles, no more hundreds of millions but a 20 million here and a 30 million there... lunch money.

First IMF Test Results under the Second IMF Agreement

Today August 22nd, 2013 it was announced that Jamaica had passed the first IMF test, we cleared the first couple of hurdle with only 295 to go. The IMF declared that they will now deposit another 30 million United States Dollars into Jamaica’s account, which should go down like honey and pass through Jamaica like laxative. As a result of the IMF Austerity measures Jamaica's exchange rate is now 102 to 1, this however is by design since the IMF wants the exchange rate to reach a more realistic position and not propped up by borrowed money, however based on what I am hearing, I believe this did not go as far enough for them but it will do for now because various IMF news reports stated that in real terms Jamaica’s exchange rate should be around 120 to 1, due to the lack of economic activity. I suspect that it will be around 105 to 1 by November unless we experience some growth and earn some hard cash soon.

In other news imports are down, this also is by design and part of the IMF’s import substitution strategy, since Imports are now more expensive as a result of the high exchange rate. The hope here is that people will begin to consume local output, support local production and grow the economy. Austerity measures almost always come with a price and as a result of cuts in Government expenditure Jamaica's economic activity is estimated to have contracted by 0.7 per cent, …“it was the fifth consecutive quarter of negative growth, indicating that the Jamaican economy continues to be in recession, with little expectation of growth beyond 0.5 per cent for the remainder of fiscal year 2013-14.”... The Unemployment rate increased to 16.3 per cent at the end of April and inflation increased to 9.7 per cent in July. However the net international reserves increased to just over US$1 billion by the end of June.

Jamaica Outperforms Projections - IMF
At the same time, the mission, which conducted the first quarterly review under the four-year extended fund facility (EFF) during the past week, reported yesterday that Jamaica's fiscal performance for the last financial year and the first quarter of the current year outperformed projections despite declines in several key areas.

Jamaica At The Bottom Of The Economic Pile: Aubyn Hill, financial gleaner COLUMNIST
Jamaica's imports still far outstrips our exports, As a country, we appear to be unwilling to curb our desire for foreign cars, clothes, hairpieces, flour and rice, and we continue to produce less and less for export.

Calls for a Jamaican Spring

I am seeing more and more partisan diehard supporters posting that what Jamaica need is some of what is happening in the Middle East, as if what is happening in the Middle East is a good thing. The Arab Spring is really a Arab Nightmare with hundreds of thousands of men, women and children killed, forced to be refugees and the region in a state of permanent perpetual civil war, yet people are talking about this is what Jamaica needs. Some of these young people are idiots with no concept of their own history because I have lived through many years of Jamaican protest and let me tell you, it is not pretty.

Yes back in the days we use to have peaceful political protest, I remember being involved in a couple of them myself, you write up some plaque cards and march to JBC where you deliver your message peacefully but at some point in our history the meaning of a protest was changed to mean a full scale riot and criminality. A politically motivated protest these days means unleash the Kraken, release the dogs of war, as smoke bellows up from the city, shots fly everywhere, stores looted, people murdered, beaten, roads blocked and people charged a toll for passage at gun point. Communities are held hostages, light post chopped down and everyone plunged into darkness with every intersection blocked with old cars and burning tires.

So you young whipper snappers be very careful what you wish for because you just might get it, especially when Jamaicans love to emulate the world’s most dangerous unstable hotspots. You might just start something you cannot reverse because the last time I checked both parties have almost equal numbers of diehard cut throat murderers and what happen if no one is willing to back down and ready to go toe to toe for a prolong period of time. Not to mention you cannot get blood out of a stone, no amount of protest can create money that only comes from hard work.

Mission to China

The Prime Minister and her delegation are in China on a one week official states visit to negotiate some deals and sign some agreements. It was announced today that several bilateral agreements was signed by both Governments.

1. China would like to use Jamaica as a Logistic Hub to take advantage of the expanded Panama Canal when it opens in 2015 and a gateway to the region.
2. China would like to build a multi-billion-dollar Logistic Hub and a new Port in the Portland Bight Protected Area on the Goat Islands. The Government has insisted that the project will provide thousands of much-needed jobs. The preliminary estimates for this mega investment are between US$1.2 billion and US$1.5 billion.
3. An Agreement was signed and China will invest into several infrastructure projects paving the way for the flow of funds under the US$350 million Major Infrastructure Development Programme.
4. The Government also inked an a agreement on economic and technical cooperation, which will see China providing Jamaica with a 100 million yuan (US$14.2 million) grant, in aid to Jamaica.
5. China agreed to build two infant schools, one in Tower Hill, St Andrew, and the other at Morant Estate, St Thomas.
6. China agreed to dispatch a technical group to Jamaica for feasibility study on a teaching building project at the Confucius Institute on Mona Campus, University of the West Indies.
7. China will teach the members of the PNP administration the Drunken Master Kung Fu style and Roger "Po" Clark will be the Dragon Warrior.

Where we should come together in the national interest we are fighting among ourselves. I firmly believe the opposition should have been with the Government in China negotiating in the national interest from a Jamaica first approach but we are not wired that way.

Not Even the Great United States is Immune to China
"In much of America, Chinese investment is quietly booming, with over $10.5 billion of deals by Chinese companies in the United States so far this year, 2013 is on pace to be the largest year ever for mergers and acquisitions of U.S. firms by Chinese companies, according to Thomson Reuters data."

Human Development vs. the Environment

China have identified two location for the construction of the Logistic Hub and Minister Robert Pickersgill announced that consideration is now being given for the use of Goat Island One and Two as the site of the hub. They were first offered Fort Augusta but rejected it declaring that the area was too small, they wanted 3,000 acres of land to build the port and mega centre.

The problem is, these are environmentally protected areas and Environmental groups have announced that they will not give them up without a fight and are prepared to take the government to court. The Government declared these areas a protected site some years ago but now has come full circle on the matter. This project is huge and the environmental impact deep and destructive, flattening one island and using the 70 feet hill to dump up the wetlands between the two islands making one big mega island, where is sharknado when you need him.

The Lush Goat Island

I consider myself a soldier in the war to protect the environment and I normally give the Jamaica Environment Trust the benefit of the doubt, they have earned my trust, so if they say no way, hands off then I am inclined to side with them and fight to protect this area. We must find the right balance between the need for Human Development and preservation of the environment, I do understand that we must sacrifice some of our environment in the interest of human development, growth and employment but where do we draw that line?

Goat Island

This is not like the Aluminum red mud lake byproduct, which already exist, is toxic and serves no purpose… These are rich environmental locations full of life that needs to be protected. I do understand that people need work, poverty needs to be addressed but should we give up some of the environment to achieve this? A big part of me says no. I just wish the debate was free of politics, everyone trying to score political point and not acting in the best interest of Jamaica. As far as I am concern if you are political then you are by nature contradictory and hypocritical and being for or against an issue is based on Political Parties and not on principles, if you support an issue or is against an issue out of principle then politics is irrelevant. The pros and cons regarding this issue must be made available for all to see and to evaluate but in the mean time I am in Environmentalist mode.

China Idea of Development

Demystifying The Logistics Hub
Minister of industry, investment and commerce, Anthony Hylton has shrugged off sceptics of the much-touted logistics hub, saying there are investors willing to pump huge sums into the US$8 billion project.

 In China the fish floats to the top

 The average Chinese lungs has evolved to breath in everything else but pure fresh air

China is not a country that cares about the environment nor are they acting in Jamaica’s best interest, well none of these types of countries ever acted in Jamaica’s best interest, certainly not the United States of America or Great Britain. We are old enough, have been on this earth long enough to know that we are only a means to an end, their end. We have lived through Slavery, Colonization and the Cold War and have been used and abused by these blood sucking first world countries at one time or another. So every one of us knows that China is looking out for China’s best interest and this is a negotiation, the government must fight for Jamaica's interest, we know we must give up somethings but we must also get somethings from the deal and the cost cannot be too much, we must be prepared to walk away.

If we appear too needy and cheap then we will be used like a crack whore who has not gotten her last fix for some time and right now our Government is needy, hurting, emotional, sensitive and fearful, yes people our Government is a Crack Whore who have not hit that pipe for some time now and will do just about anything for a quick fix.

Selling Our Birthright: Peter Espeut
The Chinese have declared the Goat Islands to be their preferred site to establish a huge port and logistics hub. The discussions have taken place in secret, but the scuttlebutt is that Great Goat Island is to be levelled, and the 100m-high hill pushed into the sea to cover the wetlands between them, and to create a huge island on which the logistics hub will be built.

 The Chinese version of Hellshire Beach

When it comes to the environment the average Chinese would live on Saturn’s moon Titan and suck Methane for money so I would never listen to the Chinese when it comes to the Environment.

More about → Jamaica, IMF, China and the Environment

Post Sandy Message from Breakboy Nrg

As the rainfall and intense winds subside, as the power and water supply return sporadically, as downed trees, foliage, light poles and power lines are cleaned up and put right, and as businesses reopen, the progressive return to normalcy is clear in sight.

With this return to the norms of our day to day life, it would be good to reflect on how fortunate we are, 1) to have survived with so little loss and 2) for the disaster itself.

I always find a need to remind everyone including myself that the purpose of the gift of life is to have the opportunity to become better, to evolve.

This disaster as with all others gives us an opportunity to come into another frame of mind.

When faced with an impending disaster, usually in Jamaica’s case, hurricanes.  we shift into high anxiety mode,  we head for the supermarket and/or hardware store, in an effort to implement our 10 point disaster preparedness plan, we closely monitor the updates on TV, radio or the internet and we wait…hoping for the best…

Naturally, for you my friends and by extension my fellow countrymen, I will always hope that the experience of any natural disaster will leave all unscathed in as many ways as possible, but unfortunately a lot of times this is not the reality, some die, some lose their homes, others are the victim of other types of calamities.

So yes, we SHOULD be grateful, if we can laugh at the end of it, and retell the story, and return to work and have a roof over your head and food to eat, and be able to kiss your children.

But is the disaster itself some kind of symbol, a metaphor for our relationships with each other and with nature, it can be something to think about.

Nature balances itself everyday, in order to exist as humans on this planet we take for granted the billions of processes that have to be perfectly right.

We go about our lives ignoring our impact on the environment, by not being aware we inevitably become destructive.

Our way of life today reflects chaos, selfishness, disorder in thoughts, words and deed and the environment mirrors this, how we destroy the environment for profit and our idle comforts, is exactly how we create disasters brought about by extremes (heat and cold) a byproduct of global warming.

Today we face ecological crises, social crises, political crises and human crises and they are all intertwined.

During these disasters, thru the darkness our humanity shines, when the modern conveniences are stripped away we are left to our own devices to entertain ourselves, to be more creative, to help our neighbor, to listen and be more responsive to nature,

Yes, thankfully you are all well after Sandy.

I caution you to also be thankful for Sandy’s message.

-Live with awareness

-Train Hard

-Have Fun

Breakboy Nrg

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Remove the Human Infestation

 

Portland Rock Expedition, Pedro Cays, Jamaica 

Pedro Cays, are four small, flat (2 to 5 metres high), low-lying and mostly uninhabited cays, lie about midway along the southern edge of the eastern half of Pedro Bank. The Middle Cay was captured by 400 to 500 people as a fishing outpost, of which about 150 are “women”. I have been told the place have a make shift bar and a Go-Go club, in one interview a man describe the place as being filled with prostitutes and nightly merriment. These people are just the nastiest most disgusting set of people I have ever seen, they have converted a once beautiful island into a shanty town, filled with shacks as they live and eat among their own waste and filth, they pay no taxes, most are not licensed fishermen but demand that the Government spend tax payers money to improve their living conditions. Among the health and environment issues at the Pedro Cays are the absence of running water, a lack of toilet facilities and a rapidly increasing garbage dump but they have bars, Go-Go club, whores and nightly merriment? WTF!!!

Garbage and Filth!

I read that during a conversation between the Jamaica Environment Trust and the representatives of the squatters, the trust outline some possible solution with involves new Rules and Regulations as to how Pedro cays should be used. The poor and downtrodden hates Rules and Regulation, they do not like it and are not afraid to tell anyone who dare propose any Rules and Regulation where they can stick it.

Disgusting Animals!!

If the people who live over there have no sense of decency, not even the basic concept of picking up after themselves, much less making sure their surroundings are clean and tidy then throwing money at it, is like throwing pearls before nasty disgusting swines, It will only become a sink hole for money. Yes basic service is required but I would prefer to remove the Human Infestation, they are like a virus and remove their shacks and return the area to the wild as wild animals have more respect for nature, themselves and their surroundings.

Poor Masked Booby bird trying to hatch her eggs amid them filth!!

When people discuss "Invasive Species" they typically mean plants and animals that are introduced to an area and wipe out resident species and upset the ecosystem. It never occurs to people that HUMANS are also an invasive species and it does not get any more invasive than them nasty people!

"I'd like to share a revelation that I've had during my time here. It came to me when I tried to classify your species and I realized that you're not actually mammals. Every mammal on this planet instinctively develops a natural equilibrium with the surrounding environment but you humans do not. You move to an area and you multiply and multiply until every natural resource is consumed and the only way you can survive is to spread to another area. There is another organism on this planet that follows the same pattern. Do you know what it is? A virus. Human beings are a disease, a cancer of this planet. You're a plague and we are the cure."

Might as well the sea level rise and reclaim the Cays

This is how I think this small Island should look:

Miskito Cays Nicaragua

Instead this is how Middle Cay look today:

Rundown Shanty town Shacks

Peter Espeut - Environmentalist and Shernett Linton  - Shopkeeper at Pedro Cays
The State of the Pedro Cays

People who created the filthy conditions and living amongst it!!!

"And Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Roger Clarke returned from their visit to the Pedro Cays said he was buoyed by the residents' apparent willingness to help solve the problem…

In addition to the absence of running water, residents have had to contend with poor and inadequate toilet facilities that have prompted them to designate an area on the tiny island to pass urine and faeces. At the same time, they have also done battle with an increasing garbage dump, which some among them have said has to be burnt each night to prevent it reaching their doors."

Ministers buoyed by Pedro Cays visit

The Shit House

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A Jamaican Farm for the Future

When I was young my uncles use to call be both "infarmer" (informer) and farmer:

1.  I would tell my grandmother on my uncles every time I see them doing something they should not be doing, so "infarmer" in Jamaican Patios was informer and
2. At an early age I developed a love for farming.  

My grandmother did not let the small plot of land around her house go to waste, she could not afford to, so she utilized as much of the land as she could and I was there every step of the way to help her. At the center of our farming world was the chickens, it was my job to make sure the chicken coop was cleaned, chickens watered, fed, eggs collected and fighting birds kept apart, this was a job I did with pride, except on one occasion when one of the hens laid her eggs under the house, it was my job to go under the house and collect these eggs but on that day both the hen and the roaster did not want that to happen, she wanted to make baby chickens and I wanted to eat her eggs for breakfast, as a result I was tagged teamed by both the hen and the Roaster. I was about 9 years of age and I can remember like it was yesterday, however I cannot remember how I made my escape and I still have the scars to show for it. Being beaten by two birds in a confined space is not fun, not to mention I ended up cutting my wrist on a broken glass and almost needed stitches, my uncles had a field day with that, imagine farmer beaten by his chickens. 

Having chickens really helped to reduce my grandmother’s grocery bills, this represented meat on the table and eggs for breakfast.  The selection process as to which chicken to kill for the Sunday dinner was sometimes very hard especially when you start naming these birds, this meant that I have gotten too close to my  food source but it was this birds turn to provide food for our family. At times I would not only help to select the bird for slaughter but would carry out the execution myself, a process my grandmother encouraged so I do not lose sight of why we farm and the importance of farming to the family finances. 

The other aspect of farming I really love was planting food crops, putting seeds in the ground and waiting for them to germinate, seeing young plants breaking through the soil was very exciting to me.  I first experienced this in primary school, the teacher showed us how to put seeds and cotton wool in a jar and then add water, day after day we would watch for signs of life and when that seed opened and the young plant emerged it was pure excitement in the classroom.

Our back yard garden would included Bananas, Callaloo, tomatoes, pepper, yam, sugar cane, gungo peas, cerasee, scallion, mint just to name a few.  The banana plant was the most amazing to me, it’s a very giving plant not only does it give you bananas but it also gives you several young suckers from which to start planting again and before you know it we had to give away young Banana suckers to our neighbors. 

These food crops went a long way to reduce the weekly grocery bills as well as to supplement the family income as excess food reaped or chickens would also be sold to the neighbors. On many occasions our neighbors would wake us by knocking at the gate asking for Callaloo or a chicken to buy.  I remember growing parsley in a bucket and my aunt who managed the hotel in Port Antonio would buy the entire lot for the hotel kitchen, that made me feel good knowing that people from far away countries was enjoying my parsley, I was about 11 then.

Over the years since then it was not farming that grabbed my interest but computers, software development is how I now make my living, it seemed somewhere along the way I fell prey to the notion that is so prevalent in Jamaica, that farming is a poor man’s way of existing. Ever since slavery ended Jamaicans have resented working the land, that was slave work and no one wanted their offspring to engage in it. After all the slave master never got his hands dirty and his kids were all lawyers, doctor, civil servants and Bankers, so what’s good enough for the masters was good enough for the ex-slaves. Even to this day if you tell some people you wanted to be a farmer they would laugh at you because to them farming is not something anyone should aspire to and if you insist on being a farmer then you are only respected if you do it on a grand scale like the estate slave owners of the past or a middle America capital intense farm while driving a Range Rover Sport with all the bling. We are a materialistic people where the perception of wealth is more important than actually having wealth or even defining what wealth means.  For me if you realize your hopes and dream and you are happy and content with your life then you are wealthy, there is nothing more you want or need in life.

Permaculture

So now I have come full circle, I am now obsessed with farming and the environment, in particular I am obsessed with the permaculture method of organic farming. I was first introduced to permaculture one day when I was researching organic farming, I came across a video on youtube called “A Farm for the Future” by Rebecca Hosking set in the Devon County of England, I have a love affair with Devon much like my love affair with Port Antonio, Portland but I will leave that for another time.  Rebecca Hosking is a camerawoman, who spearheaded a campaign to make the Devon town of Modbury the first in Britain to ban plastic bags and she was honoured by the queen with a MBE.

Farming without oil - Rebecca Hosking

Permaculture (permanent and culture/agriculture) is an approach to designing agricultural systems that are modeled on the relationships found in natural ecologies. Permaculture is returning your land back to nature, simply because nature knows best, to me it is a holistic way of food production.

The Father of Permaculture Bill Mollison writes:

"The aim is to create systems that are ecologically-sound and economically viable, which provide for their own needs, do not exploit or pollute, and are therefore sustainable in the long term."

"Permaculture uses the inherent qualities of plants and animals combined with the natural characteristics of landscapes and structures to produce a life-supporting system for city and country, using the smallest practical area."

 If you leave a piece of land to nature it will become green and lush, a balance, diverse  eco system would be created and maintained by nature. This piece of land may or may not contain foods we can eat but it is thriving with various plants and animal life.  If we could somehow replace the plants we cannot eat with food producing plants and find a way to attract beneficial insects, plants and animal life that will support our mini eco system then we would have created a self sustaining Food Forrest. 

In a natural forest there is no need to dig and sow, plant and weed, or spray bugs, still, all those chores are taken care of somehow, the forest grows and feeds its inhabitant. Nature is the ultimate recycler everything goes round and round there is no such thing as "waste" everything is a resource. Design is the keyword here It's all about how you place the design elements together, look at how things work together in nature, and then try and mimic that design in your garden and on your farm.

In “A Farm for the Future” Rebecca Hosking outlined why today’s method of farming is not sustainable, she showed how much oil is required to produce an acre of crop, she showed the effects that pesticide and plowing is having on the land and wild life and she interviewed various farmers who uses Permaculture design principles to produce food. She points how polyculture farming (multiple crops) is so much better food system than monoculture farming.

What I now realize is that my grandmother was a permaculture farmer, her methods was simple and natural from walking behind defecating donkeys and horses picking up their feces for fertilizer, to using her herbal concoction as pesticide or collecting and using urine to add nitrates to the soil she was an organic farmer.  She knew what plants the chickens liked to eat and when she had no money to buy feed that was what they got, plus left over rice, stale bread nothing went to waste. On the parts of the land not in use, the chickens were allowed to forage for food and in so doing they would fertilize the soil.

Reinventing Myself

Now I am hoping to re-invent myself as an Organic, Permaculture farmer, a Brew master of Real Ale and a pub owner so far I have secured a couple acres of land in St. Mary but that is as far as I gotten. I have not taken a lot of chances in my life, up till now it has gone according to the script, schools, pass exams, get a job in an office, try and crawl my way up the corporate ladder. This was done because others and myself thought that this was what I was place on this earth to do, being content and happy played a minor part in the decision process.  Taking that leap into the unknown is not an easy thing to do and Jamaican parents don’t really care about your dreams or hope, they care about their hope and dreams for you, good education and a bank work, this is a fault of the Jamaican school system, we are a reading, writing and arithmetic society educated to take very little chance, we have a saying in Jamaica “Never leave sure for unsure” that saying is a sure innovation killer.

Jamaica Farming Revolution

I think we are on the verge of a farming revolution in Jamaica, I really hope so, I think finally our politicians gets it, that it is their responsibility to push a pro Jamaican solution for our problems. Our food import bill is way too high and has been too high for decades now but we have never had a government that pushes local production since the 1970’s. At the start of the 1980’s successive governments have equated freedom and democracy with the freedom to import and as this freedom wins votes, give the people what they want and they will vote for you. Eat what you grow and grow what you eat is not a concept that was created this year, it is a concept that was created and was pushed by the government of the 70s but then it became bad words, socialist and communist talk, people use to curse the government saying that they wanted them to eat “nyaga” (Negro) food as imported food from America held more status. I remember passing a protest, a road block in 1980, one woman screamed that  she wanted to see Kellogs cornflakes and American apples on the supermarket shelf even if she cannot afford to buy them.

Jamaica’s farming revolution will require a new breed of farmers who are able to think and operate outside of the box, farmers who are in touch with the modern farming world and the science of farming. Jamaica need a new breed of farmers, highly educated farmers who are not afraid to do the research, to experiment, to be business owners, Managers, biologist one day and a chemist the next, farmers who can grow their business to become food processors and manufactures, from packaging to marketing. The concept of research, development and engineering are no longer limited to the pharmaceutical and manufacturing industry, they are now a vital part of the farming industry. Our farmers must be able to understand the properties and benefits of various food items, keep up with modern day scientific discoveries, follow and adapt farming techniques being used all over the globe.

The problem we have is that most of our farmers are poorly educated country farmers. They are good at what they know and do, but what they know and do have not kept up with modern times, they are out of touch with today’s farming world. Their techniques and knowledge have been passed down from generation to generation but have not adapted to modern times and as such we are not able to compete in the modern market place. It is not surprising then that our Agricultural Ministry is forced to pick up the slack, they are forced to do the things our farmers are unable to do for themselves. I watched a video where one farmer complained that he has thousands of mangoes falling off the trees but no market and he would like the ministry to find him a market, he can grow it but he cannot market it and he cannot convert it into a secondary product because he does not know how to process, package and market Mangoes and its byproducts.

If most of our farmers were educated business people then they would not need the ministry to do this work on their behalf, our farmers are analog farmers trying to make their way in a digital world. Praedial larceny is a big problem for the Jamaican farmers but most of our farmers have never heard of or seen modern farming security systems, to help deal with this plague, these are the type of innovation that is missing.

With the rising price of oil and the global economic recession our government is now forced to seek alternatives to food import. The United Nation have announced that global food prices are going to rise in the coming months and years, so not only is this an alternative to import but a chance for us to increase food export and earn foreign exchange. We are now seeing what we can accomplish when we take the politics out of the process and come together as Jamaicans to support local initiative which are in the national interest of our country. As a result people are slowly now beginning to think of farming, farmers and local produce in a different light, as an integral part of our development, our food processing companies are now using natural home grown produce to create value added products.  This is only the beginning, it is the governments duty and responsibility to sell, PUSH the brand Jamaica to Jamaicans.

Re-Branding Jamaica

Jamaica needs an ideology, the people need something to believe in, something to rally around, something everybody can get on board with, the ideology of nationalism, the ideology of patriotism, the ideology of self reliance and the ideology of Jamaica first are perfect rallying point. Before we can sell the brand Jamaica to anyone else we must first have a brand we the Jamaican people believe in.  We need to redefine what it means to be a Jamaican, what it means to be a Jamaican worker,  a Jamaican farmer , a Jamaican producer  and we need to redefine what it means to consume goods and services made in Jamaica.

More about → A Jamaican Farm for the Future

Eat what we grow and grow what we eat

I fully support The Ministry of Agriculture’s Eat Jamaica Campaign, I have been fortunate not only to observe but to engage with people living in the English countryside and I continue to be amazed at how territorial they are about the things they consume, food mileage is very important to them.  A butcher or a local grocer would advertise with pride that the products they sell were not only produced locally but organic and with minimal environmental impact. The butcher in Devon County  would advertise that the beef on sale was Genuine Devon Beef from a farm only a few miles from the store and British certifications or seals placed on packages for all to see, to prove that the items was produced locally and pass British Standards.

It comes as no surprise therefore that British agriculture satisfies 60 per cent of the food needs of the UK. If countries that are more economically stable and classified as First-World can set aside material needs and make common sense decisions based on individual and environmental cost in the interest of humanity and future generations, then why can't we do the same for our Jamaica?

In a country so dependent on nature and the environment for its existence, we should be more conscious of the air we breathe, the water we drink and the food we eat. Jamaican certification and seals means nothing if the Jamaican consumers have no confidence in brand Jamaica.

I am happy to report however that the Jamaican Environmental movement is growing and slowly having a positive impact on certain sections of our society. Over the past decade several organizations have been created to push for a greener more environmentally friendly Jamaica and they have become a force to be reckoned with. It is very important, that we the public get behind these organizations in order to educate the general public that Jamaica’s future will come from the Environment and our success will come from embracing a sustainable way of life. It is clear for all to see that our present way of life is not sustainable, we are in a sense flogging a dead donkey whose rotten carcass is making life unbearable, we are as Michael Manley puts it “going up the down escalator” the level of Jamaica’s growing  debt is proof of this, we borrow to live.

There is a lot of exciting, innovative things happening in Jamaica, lots of little cute concepts and ideas from cafés to wine bars, cute little shops, gourmet foods such as Tamarind Hill Farm's Goat Cheese all beginning to take life, most of these innovations are being driven by the ex-pat community, non-Jamaicans who choose to make Jamaica their home, they see Jamaica as a viable option, they see things in Jamaica that most other Jamaicans cannot see. Liz Solms organized event “Farm-to-table”, a monthly gourmet dinner served in the middle of a farmer’s field using foods from the farm itself.  Check out Therese Morris, Founder & Owner of Flavour du Jour, as she promote the local food industry.

The Higher the petrol Price the Bigger the vehicles?

The rising price of oil and the negative effects that it is having on our economy and society demands that we make certain sacrifices that is in the National Interest of our country. Do we really need a gas guzzling SUV to get from Barbican to New Kingston or from Sandhurst to Manor Park?  The size of the vehicles on the small roads of Jamaica is a bit over the top but in Jamaica, style means everything, common sense plays no part in our daily lives.

Driving a monster truck while depriving our society of much needed foreign exchange to feed, educate and provide health care to our kids is a crime against our society and future generations. How much does it cost to fill the gas tank of one of these monsters? The environmental and financial impact of our actions will come back to hurt us.

In some richer countries the people have chosen to drive small, fuel efficient and environmentally friendly cars which are more suited to the size of our roads. Some of these Small, environmentally friendly cars are produced by companies like Mercedes Benz, which should satisfy the superficial need Jamaicans have to own brand-name products.

Update: Thursday | June 16, 2012

JAMAICA'S FOOD import bill continues to spiral out of control, jumping by US$100 million last year to a staggering US$930 million. Some J$750 million was spent on imported French fries.

Following his disclosure at a recent graduation ceremony for the first batch of 28 graduates from the Farm Field School project funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Roger Clarke told Agro Gleaner that the increase was a shocker.

He said: "I was anticipating a lowering of the import bill (so) I was alarmed at it." This comes against the background of the national 'Grow What We Eat, Eat What We Grow Campaign' and Backyard Gardening project, both of which were deemed to be successful in promoting consumption of local agricultural produce.

Meanwhile, Ancile Brewster, the IDB's country representative to Jamaica, warned that any attempt at reducing the food import bill would need to go well beyond "more than just blocking" imports. Speaking ahead of Clarke, he had put Jamaica's annual bill at more than US$800 million, which, when combined with Trinidad and Tobago's US$600 million, sees the two countries paying in excess of US$1.5 billion to import food each year. Read More: Rising food import bill concerns Clarke


LOCAL BANANA growers in Portland are appealing to the Ministry of Agriculture to provide a sustainable local market for them to sell their fruits, as thousands of acres of green gold are going to waste. The last-ditch appeal comes against the background of large amounts of banana chips and other by-products of the fruit that are imported into the country each year, while rural banana farmers remain poor.
Read More: Banana growers plead for help

Environmentally Conscious Consumer Operations

More about → Eat what we grow and grow what we eat