Broad smiles there may soon be, as a plan to explore cheaper and higher-yielding feeds for Jamaican fish farmers is being examined, vigorously, by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries.

Freshwater fish farmers now get most of their supplies from local companies which processes their feeds for sale from a combination of items, mainly imported.

But according to Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Pearnel Charles Jr, calls and proposals have been made to him for farmers to access alternative feed sources that, if allowed, could not only see a drastic reduction in the price of the high protein commodity, but also reveal more weighty fish raised over a similar period on products being used now.

“The fish feed that they provide now for the industry, based on my engagement with fish farmers, is not the highest quality in comparison, for instance, to fish feed from Costa Rica,” Charles Jr said in a midweek interview with the Jamaica Observer.

“But we have a duty regime to protect the local producers. When the fish farmers assess it, they tell me that when they bring in fish feed, even at the increased price, they get higher and better yields, based on the fact that it is a floating fish feed that they import…it doesn’t sink, so that you know that all of it is used, and it is segmented, and you also have different types for different phases of the growth.

“So they get better yields, they also reduce the waste of the feed, and although it costs more, the conversion rate and the productivity rate is better. They (farmers) have asked to assess whether or not the Government would consider either a reduction or a removal [of the tariff], so that they could become more competitive to meet the local demand and start exporting more to the region and the world. That’s something I have to consider. At the end of the day, Jamaica is going to grow only if we make the moves to grow. And what we want is for the agriculture and fisheries sector to be inclusive, to be sustainable and to offer itself as the strongest vehicle for the growth and development in our country, in terms of contribution to our GDP (gross domestic product) and in terms of contribution to employment.”

The minister, who was shifted from the Ministry of Housing, Urban Renewal, Environment, and Climate Change in a Cabinet shuffle last month, said that the agriculture sector’s 7.8 per cent contribution to Jamaica’s GDP last year was encouraging and the signs that things are on the move for further growth.

He insisted that the sector could achieve up to 15 per cent growth not too far from now, if the country focuses more on research and development, get praedial larceny under control, introduce climate-smart agriculture, and define the goal for food security “under the tent of really creating the competition in the market that is needed to make us always wanting to do better, to be better, to become more efficient and to reduce the wastage.

“When you look, for instance, on the fish feed, it is something that we have to do. It will influence the price of the commodity. If you are able to bring in the input that allows for greater yields, the farmers benefit, the consumer benefits, Jamaica benefits.

“You can look on what Nigel Clarke did by reducing the transfer tax. When the minister of finance posited the mere elimination of the transfer tax and stamp duty on real estate transactions, several squealed that it would destroy the market. What it did was create opportunities and drive the market to grow. That is the similar approach that I am taking – competition, better mechanisms, better input, better cost, is going to drive our agriculture and fisheries sector to grow,” stated Charles Jr, a lawyer by training, who cited huge benefits for Jamaica from an agriculture and fisheries spin-off.

“You talking about an expanding tourism market that is rebounding and going to grow. You talking about a Brand Jamaica that is uniquely desired, regionally and globally and we haven’t even scratched the surface in terms of meeting demand for Tilapia, Jamaican ginger, pineapples, Jamaican castor oil,” the Clarendon South Eastern Member of Parliament suggested, “so I have no illusions regarding the amount of work that is before us, but I am confident that if we are steadfast, if we are fearless, sensible, we can transform this sector into a more sustainable and stronger sector than it is now.

“Jamaica should never ever be labelled as poor by anyone in the world, based on the assets that we have. The Dominican Republic, based on my research, is near self-sufficient. Cuba, because of the several barriers to trade, has been forced to do more research and development than most. I have already started talking to Cuba, I am in touch with our Jamaican ambassador to Cuba to explore options for partnership in research and development.

“I am already speaking to my ministry officials about reengaging the Dominican Republic to explore how they have been able to increase their self-sufficiency, and just focus now on increasing exports. We have everything at our disposal in this country. We just have to think differently, change our mindset, and be bold enough to do things differently. That is the formula that is required for us to be successful and that is what I have no fear in doing,” Charles Jr said.