JAMAICA, Government of Jamaica, Jamaica Information Service; Oct. 15, 2008
The Agriculture Minister pointed out that the other aspect, involves examining the role of agricultural policy in supporting energy requirements. "What is the role in agriculture in doing that? What are the various sources of bio-fuels that complement and not contradict or conflict with our need to provide food security? Are there crops that can be grown that are not going to take away what is required for consumption?" Dr. Tufton questioned. Another issue that came out of the conference was the need to identify alternatives to corn as a source of protein, particularly in feedstock; it was suggested that cassava be utilised. The Minister noted that this was not only useful in terms of feed stock, but for human consumption as well, pointing to an experiment with nutri-buns, provided under the school-feeding programme, through the Education Ministry, where cassava flour was used to substitute up to 20 per cent of flour.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Christopher Tufton, has called for the establishment of a World Trade Organisation (WTO) - compatible agricultural development fund, to facilitate modernisation and re-tooling of the sector.
This call follows a meeting last week, which the Minister chaired, with the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED), as part of the eighth Caribbean Week of Agriculture, held in St. Vincent and the Grenadines.
Dr. Tufton revealed that it was suggested at the meeting, that revenues collected from imports of agricultural produce from other countries, could go towards supporting the development of such an agricultural fund.
"Daily, we import billions of dollars of produce from farmers who are producing it in other countries...We need to put a system in place that says if we gave 100 per cent duty concession on corn imports, which we currently do, coming into the country, apply a five per cent duty and take that five per cent, put it in a pool to re-tool our farmers so that they can grow," he said.
Dr. Tufton was speaking at the opening ceremony for a Sub-Regional Training of Trainers (TOT) Workshop on Agricultural Science, Technology, and Innovation Systems, being hosted by the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Co-operation (CTA), in collaboration with the Scientific Research Council (SRC) and the National Commission on Science and Technology (NCST). The event is being held at the Hilton Kingston Hotel from October 13 to 17.
He noted further, that those who oppose that process, of applying duty to agricultural imports, claim expense to the consumer, "but the truth of the matter is that.it might be a small price to pay for building the local capacity that is required, so that it minimises our vulnerabilities in the long run. We have to take these decisions, and the COTED is firm on it," he emphasised.
"I think there are opportunities in the current market crisis that we face, (and) we need to look for those opportunities that exist there, (and) not just view it as a threat, but view it as a call to action to address some of the fundamental challenges that we have to confront. We have to change our mindset, we have to change our attitude, we have to change our approach, and it has to start at the highest possible level," Dr. Tufton stressed.
Also, coming out of those discussions, he said, was the call for the region, to "re-focus our attention towards building local capacity. Territories within the region, which once saw their salvation coming from services, including Jamaica from tourism, from fossil fuels, in the case of Trinidad and Tobago, and saw food or the sourcing of food coming primarily from trading with other countries, are now re-thinking that model because of the developments that have occurred over time". Out of the meetings, he informed, a communiqué had been developed by the Heads of the region, to take a number of steps to re-focus attention on building local capacity.
Dr. Tufton pointed out that there is a need, for example, for common commodities to be identified in the region and for the research capacity that is being provided by institutions like the Scientific Research Council (SRC), the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the University of the West Indies, and others "to build capacity behind these common commodities, so that these can become an important source of food for the region."
"Firstly, to satisfy the local needs within each territory, because we tend to focus a lot on trade between ourselves, when in truth and in fact, we are not even providing enough capacity to satisfy our local demands. We are looking for best practices, and what we are saying to regional Heads, (is that) we need to recommit ourselves by explicitly stating our commitment to building an agricultural sector that will work, and by supporting that with the necessary resources," he explained.
The Agriculture Minister pointed out that the other aspect, involves examining the role of agricultural policy in supporting energy requirements. "What is the role in agriculture in doing that? What are the various sources of bio-fuels that complement and not contradict or conflict with our need to provide food security? Are there crops that can be grown that are not going to take away what is required for consumption?" Dr. Tufton questioned.
Another issue that came out of the conference was the need to identify alternatives to corn as a source of protein, particularly in feedstock; it was suggested that cassava be utilised. The Minister noted that this was not only useful in terms of feed stock, but for human consumption as well, pointing to an experiment with nutri-buns, provided under the school-feeding programme, through the Education Ministry, where cassava flour was used to substitute up to 20 per cent of flour.
"The point is that there are alternative options out there. It is for us to identify them and to tap into them and to develop business models supported by research and development, that is going to provide those options, which will, in effect, allow us to determine our own destiny, rather than to be overly dependent on others to supply us," he said.
Dr. Tufton noted further, that COTED took the decision that Government policy must drive a process that encourages existing providers of feed stock to replace the imported content up to 25 per cent. "Instead of importing 100 per cent of corn, we have to use Government policy, whether through moral suasion or direct intervention, to encourage some of these persons who import 100 per cent corn to find an alternative to subsidise the corn that they import," he stressed.
The training workshop will seek to support the African Caribbean and Pacific (ACP), region in building capacity to improve understanding, among leaders in the agricultural sector in ACP countries, of innovation framework systems. It emphasises how the major actors involved in an innovation system at the national level in any given sector and in particular, the agricultural sector, can contribute to improving and expanding innovation processes in support of socio-economic markets.
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