As good a call as any, ‘Governor’ Lloyd B Smith
THOUGH having thrown in the towel on his career in representational politics, former Member of Parliament and House Speaker Mr Lloyd B Smith continues to contribute to the national conversation in a productive way.
His latest call in his Point Counter Point column in this newspaper’s Friday, September 1, 2023 edition is for the finalisation and implementation of a national Food Security and Nutrition Policy.
Yes, we have heard such a call before, and the talk has been plenty on the matter, but the fact is that it is yet to be put in place.
Mr Smith makes a sober acknowledgement: “[N]either the Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) nor the People’s National Party (PNP) has so far come up with a land use policy that prioritises agriculture and, in the long run, we are going to pay the price for this visionless approach. The bottom line is that we must be able to feed ourselves and stop being so dependent on foreign imports.”
In this he exposes the absence of the political will to get the process completed and set the nation on a course truly steered at economic independence. This should be the targeted ambition of a nation such as ours and food security is a crucial pillar.
“The time has come for Jamaica to make food security a top priority,” writes the quintessential governor of Montego Bay.
He harks back to failed efforts on the mission on both sides of the political divide, crediting Prime Minister Michael “Joshua” Manley for being on the right path back in the 70s when he introduced the “eat what you grow” campaign and encouraged local farmers to produce more. Recalling the Hounslow in St Elizabeth and Mafoota in St James as failed experiments, poor management is suggested as being culpable as well as a culture of individualism.
Edward Seaga, Governor Lloyd B reminds us, pursued a path with aloe vera in Trelawny and the Springs Plain irrigation project in Clarendon. Here defeat was attributed to a lack of political will and poor private sector involvement.
That the clarion call comes from one of our own at a time when international trade continues to be hamstrung by supply chain challenges and vulnerabilities associated with war, it is hoped that present Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries Floyd Green will advocate, if not clamour, for pride of place on the national agenda.
United Nations Sustainable Development Goal #2 calls for the elimination of hunger and the pursuit of food security and improved nutrition to promote sustainable agriculture. No doubt there should unequivocal support for this mission encapsulated in our national development plan.
Mr Smith advances a simple yet profound truth, “[F]arming on small plots of land cannot collectively produce enough food to feed the nation.” What is required is the development, adoption, and implementation of a Government- and Opposition-led plan, with the requisite commitment to seeing it work to the benefit of all Jamaicans for generations to come.
This requires more than the $200-million drought mitigation programme recently announced. It requires far more than lip service to stamp out praedial larceny. What is needed is the application of appropriate management principles and strategies to achieve success.
Thanks, Governor! We hear your call and hope the leadership will heed.