Like Jamaica’s Minister of Finance Audley Shaw indicated at a meeting with members of the Jamaican Diaspora in Broward county two years ago, Tufton said there is a vast overseas market for Jamaican value-added (or processed food) products.
Shaw had said there was a good possibility of Jamaica getting financial help from multilateral organizations like the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) to fund these programs. Although there is no overt evidence of any major recent development in Jamaica’s agro-processing industry, Tufton is speaking of a new plan, based on investment in agri-green houses.
The minister said Jamaican farmers are challenged with providing consistent crop to serve the needs of the tourism sector he said when farmers are unable to supply the market, inefficiencies occur, which the nation cannot tolerate. As such, the country needs to explore new ways of efficient farming like using greenhouses.
Tufton pointed out that there has been significant growth in the use of green-house farming, as last year Jamaica did not need to import red bell peppers because they were grown in green houses year round and used within the country. He said lettuce and tomatoes are next on the agenda for greenhouse growth.
For sustained growth in greenhouse farming, Tufton said the Jamaican government needs strong private sector investment.
During the question and answer segment of the event, a guest expressed concern with private investors remaining accountable to the wellbeing of Jamaica. The questioner was concerned that control of the greenhouse projects could be lost, since government would have no financial control. In response, Tufton reiterated that private capital has to be a strong source of funding because of Jamaica’s national debt, although that has declined from approximately $0.60 to now approx $0.53 cents on every dollar. To free up government funds to pay public sector workers, for example, Jamaica has to source private capital for projects like the proposed greenhouse project, but is holding these private companies to strict standards to ensure safety of the economy, and protection of, in this case, Jamaican farmers.
The minister said another challenge was to train farmers in the use of new technologies, adding that agriculture, which currently employs some 30 percent of the nation’s work force, can easily employ more people. However, farmers need to be trained to develop their business plans to include new approaches to farming, like greenhouses.
Tufton also spoke of divestment in agriculture. In the case of coffee, two major shareholders are now growing and distributing 70 percent of Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee.
The Japanese have taken very specific interest in ginger production, and studies conducted indicate Jamaican ginger is about 30 percent more potent than ginger grown elsewhere. However, no deal has been struck yet with the Japanese.
