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LETTER OF THE DAY - Agriculture can save sweet Jamaica
Published: Thursday | January 19, 2012 4 Comments
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM A German native, the husband of a lovely Jamaican woman, and a regular visitor to Jamaica. I just returned home from a three-week visit with my in-laws in Stony Hill. As usual, I had a wonderful time. In my view, Jamaica's best asset isn't its lovely beaches, it is its people. Jamaicans are warm, knowledgeable about their country and are willing to share it.
My last trip had one major disappointment: unlike earlier visits, this time I encountered more trash on the streets, uncollected garbage at the entrance to homes, and plastic bottles seemed to be everywhere. Jamaica is such a lush, green island. The sight of trash, in its various forms, is a blight on the island's beauty.
You don't need me to tell you how beautiful Jamaica is, and how perfect it is for investment opportunities. You also don't need me to tell you how desperate many Jamaicans are for jobs that pay a decent living wage. I ache when I see the youngsters standing idle on neighbourhood streets; and I am annoyed when they run the car down, aggressively pushing their goods through the window, trying to make a sale. I know they mean well, but I wish there were more safe venues for them and their potential customers to do business so that they are not on the road.
On my last trip, I walked everywhere in Stony Hills all the way up to Hermitage Dam. It is lush, green, and fertile up there - perfect temperature for growing numerous agricultural products. I would like to know why agricultural investments don't get as much priority as tourism in Jamaica. It seems to me that agriculture investments would benefit many more Jamaicans than tourism does. From everything I've learned about tourism in Jamaica, it doesn't provide a living wage or opportunities for upward mobility for many Jamaicans. If Jamaica is really serious about people power, agriculture has to be near the top of the list in terms of investment opportunities. An approach similar to what President Lula da Silva did in Brazil may work here, producing measurable benefits that lift whole families out of poverty.
Personally, I am considering some agricultural investments on the island, but I am deterred by the stories I've heard about bureaucratic hurdles, and corruption. If someone in Government or at JamPro wants to talk to explore these ideas, and help me bring them to fruition, I would be attentive. In the interim, let's focus on cleaning up the island: pay folks to clear their communities of plastic and other debris. And let's put in place a recycling strategy that makes it easy for Jamaicans with busy lives to recycle.
Andreas Seifert
Seifert-Andreas@t-online.de
Published: Thursday | January 19, 2012 4 Comments
THE EDITOR, Sir:
I AM A German native, the husband of a lovely Jamaican woman, and a regular visitor to Jamaica. I just returned home from a three-week visit with my in-laws in Stony Hill. As usual, I had a wonderful time. In my view, Jamaica's best asset isn't its lovely beaches, it is its people. Jamaicans are warm, knowledgeable about their country and are willing to share it.
My last trip had one major disappointment: unlike earlier visits, this time I encountered more trash on the streets, uncollected garbage at the entrance to homes, and plastic bottles seemed to be everywhere. Jamaica is such a lush, green island. The sight of trash, in its various forms, is a blight on the island's beauty.
You don't need me to tell you how beautiful Jamaica is, and how perfect it is for investment opportunities. You also don't need me to tell you how desperate many Jamaicans are for jobs that pay a decent living wage. I ache when I see the youngsters standing idle on neighbourhood streets; and I am annoyed when they run the car down, aggressively pushing their goods through the window, trying to make a sale. I know they mean well, but I wish there were more safe venues for them and their potential customers to do business so that they are not on the road.
On my last trip, I walked everywhere in Stony Hills all the way up to Hermitage Dam. It is lush, green, and fertile up there - perfect temperature for growing numerous agricultural products. I would like to know why agricultural investments don't get as much priority as tourism in Jamaica. It seems to me that agriculture investments would benefit many more Jamaicans than tourism does. From everything I've learned about tourism in Jamaica, it doesn't provide a living wage or opportunities for upward mobility for many Jamaicans. If Jamaica is really serious about people power, agriculture has to be near the top of the list in terms of investment opportunities. An approach similar to what President Lula da Silva did in Brazil may work here, producing measurable benefits that lift whole families out of poverty.
Personally, I am considering some agricultural investments on the island, but I am deterred by the stories I've heard about bureaucratic hurdles, and corruption. If someone in Government or at JamPro wants to talk to explore these ideas, and help me bring them to fruition, I would be attentive. In the interim, let's focus on cleaning up the island: pay folks to clear their communities of plastic and other debris. And let's put in place a recycling strategy that makes it easy for Jamaicans with busy lives to recycle.
Andreas Seifert
Seifert-Andreas@t-online.de
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