THE debate continues about the state of Jamaica’s agriculture, which seemed on the surface to be in decline but with strong growth in 2021 and 2022 obviously displays the potential for a return to growth soon.

The 69th staging of the Jamaica Agriculture Society’s (JAS) Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show revealed a new face to local agriculture which demonstrated great improvement in many areas such as small ruminants, cattle, poultry and pig production, and protected agriculture including green house, hydroponics etc.

The goats and sheep displays at Denbigh were the very best in the history of the event and exceeded any in the 128-year-old existence of the Jamaica Agriculture Society.

Congratulations is extended to Owen Bartley, champion goat farmer from Unity Boer Goat Farm, and his support team to include Hi-Pro and the JAS. This small ruminant subsector has grown exponentially from the innovation and investment afforded it by the Small Ruminant Association of Jamaica through its President Trevor Bernard, and the membership in general.

It must be noted that the Jamaican Dairy Development Board played a pivotal role in all livestock displays at the event, making the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining the lead investor in Denbigh 69, galvanising its agencies to do their best along with private sector actors and others.

The traditional cattle displays showed new direction and promise as, although fewer in numbers, the quality surpassed our expectations especially since both dairy and beef cattle were in competition — unlike last year which was affected by the nuisances of the after-effects of COVID-19.

The new face of agriculture would be frowning had it not been for champion greenhouse farmer Deandra Rowe who placed second in the national champion farmer competition as well as second in the young champion farmer contest. She is managing director of Abbey Garden Farm in Manchester. She epitomises the value of women to the sector and — in concert with 500 women from the Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers, led by President Tamisha Lee and other women — shone a beaming light over the three days of the event held from August 5 to 7. Recent announcements by Minister Floyd Green that 24 per cent of agro park lands are occupied by young farmers, surpassing the target of 20 per cent, is good news but would ring even more melodious and at higher decibels if the same could be said about the take-up of loans, foreign exchange earned, and reduction in rural unemployment. The general direction is good for agriculture, and with more resources the sector will eclipse the eight per cent of GDP it now contributes.

Preparations for these champion farmer competitions are arduous and begin months before the event, and credit must go to the team from the JAS for doing an excellent job. It is noteworthy to congratulate my own board and staff for their hard work, especially the CEO Christopher Emanuel, First Vice-President Denton Alvaranga, and administrative assistant Patricia Jackson.

The new look for agriculture was projected through the lenses of Jamaica 4H Clubs; College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE); HEART/NSTA Trust and other educational institutions, all of which benefited from the services of the Rural Agriculture Development Authority (RADA). They all exhibited new developments in various areas of agriculture, buttressed by science, demonstration, youth involvement, and climate-smart approaches to sustainable agriculture.

The temporary decline in agriculture production caused by climate change will be halted by many of the revelations from the recently held Denbigh expo. And since it’s evident that our most urgent need is for locally produced food then both Government and the private sector must now invest in the sector if this new face of agriculture will be real and impactful, with stark differentiation from the usual facade of the past designed by colonial leaders to feed us from outside, producing what they need locally primarily only to export for their own comfort in their foreign lands.

The expo brought together the critical players of the sector and the linkages which, if we don’t exploit the myriad takeaways from the Denbigh experience, will dissipate and the euphoric concept of rejuvenation behind this new face of agriculture will be a figment of our imagination or a delusion that could accelerate hunger and the destabilisation of our people, instead of bringing about food security and economic growth.

It is imperative that Government makes policies to create an enabling environment to transform the sector, with these on the agenda: availability of finance; practical and feasible access to land; privatised agriculture akin to tourism, BPO etc wherein most, if not all our raw materials are processed here to create value added and employment; reformation of the ministry and its agencies to spawn the new reality and the good-looking face of agriculture; ensuring the foward -hinking ideas behind the irrigation expansion in St Elizabeth are proliferated islandwide; investment in an equipment pool from which farmers can lease; and hastening the amendment of the agricultural produce Act to curb farm theft.

Agriculture is on the mend, and the new face of agriculture is fastly emerging despite the challenges and the slow pace of renewal.