Budget Presentation 2013 Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries Hon Roger Clarke, MP Grow Agriculture – Grow Jamaica Salutations Mr. Speaker, it is my pleasure today, to stand again in this Honourable House and to account in this Debate, to the people of Jamaica for my stewardship of the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries. As I do so, I greet and acknowledge the support of all stakeholders in this vital sector of the economy. Let me specially acknowledge : • my colleague Ministers and fellow Parliamentarians • the staff at the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries • our local and international partners • farmers’ organisations • my constituents • and, by no means least, my family. 1
Mr. Speaker, I stand here today a happy man- giving God thanks for the rains that have come .The drought is broken. It is the season for planting and a time for growth. Isn’t this a blessed country? We thank God for his abundant blessings and we stand ready to grasp every opportunity to grow agriculture and so to play our part in growing Jamaica. I am passionately committed to the growth and development of this nation. I believe that if we continue to grow Agriculture, we will grow Jamaica. As a servant of the people, I am accountable to the people of this country, and I therefore intend to begin my presentation with an account of my stewardship over the last sixteen months. Mr. Speaker, I would not characterize myself as a thin-skinned person, but I believe I have an obligation to respond to my critics. The truth is that, save and exceptthe Prime Minister, no other Minister has endured in the last sixteen months the level of sustained criticism that I have. This has ranged from my being labelled old and irrelevant, to having abandoned programmes set up by the previous administration and removing public servants from office. I do not intend to descend into a quarrel; I will just put my record on the table and let the people of Jamaica judge. I came to the Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries on the afternoon of January 6, 2012. I came alone, without a battery of consultants and relying solely on the expertise and collective wisdom of the existing cadre of employees. I certainly have not removed anyone. Some, however, who have not demonstrated the competence and the commitment to work in support of the objectives we have set, have been separated by their respective boards and with 2
due process. Others have left voluntarily to pursue their personal interests. After sixteen months, I still do not have one single consultant, or one single advisor. Mr. Speaker, while as a Government we listen to the suggestions and proposals of all, I am constrained to point out that this Government was elected on the basis of clear manifesto commitments. I have enthusiastically embraced any suggestion, any programme initiated by the former regime that makes sense and that enures to the development of the sector. However, I am continually rebuked for not having continued programmes started by the previous administration. I was elected with a mandate and with a programme for the development of the sector, and I will execute that programme despite the criticism. I will and I have in fact continued any programme that I inherited which makes sense. What are the facts? Irish Potato Mr. Speaker, this country consumes some 15 million kilograms (33 million pounds) of table (Irish) potato per annum. Although we have the capacity to produce all of this locally, we have relied heavily on imports over the years. In 2007, we produced only 42 % of our consumption. This went down to 32 % in 2008. I commend the former Administration for having taken the initiative to reverse this trend by implementing a special programme to boost Irish potato production in 2009. This resulted in the contribution of local production moving from 51 % in 2009 to 76 % in 2011. 3
Mr. Speaker, this programme made every sense to me when I assumed office.Since then, I have provided critical extension support to Irish potato farmers and funding support to RADA to participate in the purchasing and storage of the excess production at the peak of the crop. This resulted in our self-sufficiency moving upto 79 % in 2012. Towards the end of 2012, I personally met with importers of Irish potato as well as the farmers in the Guy’s Hill area in a deliberate attempt to sustain or even exceed the production levels. This was against the background of Hurricane Sandy in October and the accompanying rainfall that restricted the planting season. Given the impact of the hurricane and the accompanying rainfall, the Ministry provided $10 million to the Guy’s Hill area farmers to acquire inputs. A further $50 million was also allocated to the farmers in the Christiana area. Therefore, for 2013 we are projecting about the same level of production despite the hurricane and prolonged rains that affected Guy’s Hill and the prevailing drought impacting the Christiana area. Where then, Mr. Speaker is the evidence of abandonment? Ginger/Turmeric Mr. Speaker, when I came to the Ministry I heard talks of accelerating ginger and turmeric production, against the background of the undisputed high quality of Jamaica’s ginger and turmeric. In fact, our manifesto identified this sector as a strategic area of focus. Therefore when I came I sought immediately to put plans in place to accelerate production. We established some 171 hectares (422 acres) of production yielding 4,600 tonnes of ginger, and 4
111 hectares (275 acres) of turmeric yielding 900 tonnes. This was supported by J$39 million from the Ministry to provide disease-free planting materials and other critical inputs to farmers. Picture 1 The content of curcumin inJamaican turmeric is over three times that contained in imported turmeric. This essential ingredient has many cancer-fighting properties among other health benefits Mr. Speaker, not only have we embraced the increased production of ginger and turmeric, but indeed in this financial year, we will put in an additional 202hectares (500 acres) under our programme, in addition to some 81 hectares (200 acres) to be undertaken by other farmers independently. We will also establish 2 hectares (five acres) of shade-houses to produce some 193 tonnes of disease-free ginger planting material to ensure continued expansion into next year. Mr. Speaker, where is the abandonment? Import/ Export Performance Mr. Speaker, one of the criticisms levied at me is the “flooding” of the country with imports. What are the facts? Mr. Speaker, last year the import bill moved to US$959 million from US$938 million in 2011 representing a 2 % increase. This marginal increase in value is clearly attributable to increases 5
in the prices of imported food due to increased world food prices, and particularly the price of cereals which constitute the bulk of our imports. It should be noted that some of the corn imported is used to manufacture animal feed which is then exported throughout the Caribbean. Animal feed exports, for instance, increased from 13.3 million kg in 2011 to 20.1 million kg in 2012. The fact is that the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) reports a seven percent increase in the average world price of cereals last year. Indeed, Mr. Speaker, if one examines Jamaica’s food import bill without including cereals, then one would realise that there was a significant decline in other food imports. We recorded declining import figures for a number of critical imported items; for example, imports of Irish potato decreased in both volume and value by 9.9 %and 15.1% respectively. The same is true for pork, tomato, cucumber, cabbage, cantaloupe, sweet pepper, carrots, onion, watermelon, cauliflower, celery, and lettuce. Mr. Speaker, correspondingly, the local production of those very items increased. For instance, in the ten year period 2003 – 2012 the following products attained their highest levels of production: cucumber, pak-choi, pumpkin, escallion, ginger, onion, hot pepper, sweet pepper, cantaloupe, watermelon, corn, Irishpotato, and sweet potato 6
Production for Selected Crops2003 vs. 2012 Production (kg) Item 2003 2012 % Change Cucumber 16,134,000 16,617,400 3 Pak Choi 7,022,000 12,453,800 77.4 Pumpkin 39,103,000 52,170,300 33.4 Escallion 8,648,000 14,142,400 63.5 Ginger 402,000 1,081,600 169.1 Onion 602,000 1,088,200 80.8 Hot Pepper 5,595,000 14,263,100 154.9 Sweet Pepper 9,226,000 15,154,500 64.3 Cantaloupe 0 3,243,300 100 Watermelon 22,799,000 15,568,800 -31.7 Corn 2,029,000 2,821,200 39 Irish Potato 6,710,000 15,395,800 129.4 Sweet Potato 23,595,000 42,164,700 78.7 Source: Ministry of Agriculture & Fisheries Mr. Speaker, while imports increased marginally in value, food exports moved up from US$224 million in 2011 to US$274 million last year. That is an increase of 22.3 %. Mr. Speaker, we are obviously moving in the right direction, to grow Jamaica by growing agriculture. I would wish to highlight Mr. Speaker, in particular, the export of such food items as sweet potato, yams, pumpkin, ackee, meat products, animal feed, paw-paw and sauces. The export value of paw-paw and sauces, for instance, increased by more than 100 % during 2011-2013. Under my leadership, I am determined that this trend will continue. 7
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