the agriculturalist newspaper - april 2016

VOL. 26 NO. 1 • APRIL 2016 FREE COPY WWW.THEAGRICULTURALIST.COM

By Patrick MaitlandEditor-The Agriculturalist

The agriculture and fisheries portfo-lio of the government has been

shifted to the newly established newsuper ministry of Industry, Commerceand Agriculture.

Following the defeat of the Peoples Na-tional Party (PNP) at the Feb. 25th generalelections polls, newly appointed Prime Min-ister and leader of the Jamaica Labour Party(JLP) Andrew Holness announced an 18-man cabinet that included Karl Samuda asMinister of Industry, Commerce and Agri-culture and JC Hutchinson as Minister with-out Portfolio in the new Ministry.

Holness explains that the new ministrywas part of a strategic move to better facil-itate the linkages between commerce andproduction. The Prime Minister also recom-mitted his newly installed government to apolicy of efficiency and frugality in publicand warned that corruption would not betolerated.

Samuda said that the unique aspects ofboth the industry and commerce and theagriculture portfolios would be utilised tofacilitate development in a constructive andproductive manner.

He assured staff at the agriculture min-istry that he was looking forward to the con-tribution of every single member of staff toassist in the building of a strong team com-mitted to creating a sound agro-industry.

In his remarks, Minister Hutchinson,who will have responsibility for agricultureand fisheries, highlighted the creation ofagro-economic zones, aimed at utilisingeverything grown by farmers, from the rawmaterial through to value-added products

Agriculture Under New Super Ministry

INSIDE STORIESPAGE 3 - Excessive Food Imports Hurting farmers! PAGE 4 - Grant dropped from the Senate

- JAS opposes Agriculture under super ministryPAGE 7 - A bail-out for the sugar industryPAGE 12 - Researchers’ UpdatePAGE 13 - Health & Nutrition PAGE 14 - Youth and Education

KARL SAMUDA Minister of Industry,

Commerce and Agriculture

JC HUTCHINSONMinister without Portfolio Ministry of Industry,

Commerce and Agriculture

Agriculture Drone MarketSet to Surge 746%

By Ben Potter - AgWeb.com

Think drones are already a red-hot topicin the agriculture industry today? Just

wait, according to a report from RnR Mar-ket Research.

According to the report, the worldwidemarket for agricultural drones currently sitsat $494 million, but RnR expects thatamount to balloon to $3.69 billion by 2022.

Drones, sensors and other so-called“digital agriculture” tools are in line withconsumer trends of demanding end-to-endtransparency of how their food is produced,according to lead author of the study, SusanEustis.

“Transparency is one of the benefits …that drones bring to digital farming,” shesays. “The benefits of digital farming arehigher productivity and more efficient useof land, water and fertilizer. Transparencyin farming is being asked for by consumers.Consumers want to know where their foodcame from, how much water and chemicalswere used, and when and how the food washarvested. They want to know about con-sistent refrigeration during transport.”

Drones are one way to help farmersgain higher productivity and more effi-ciently use their land, water and fertilizerresources, Eustis says. She adds that ven-ture investment in agricultural drones isvery strong. Total ag tech capital invest-ments doubled from 2014 to 2015, to $4.25billion in total.

Continued on page 3

. i a t E t

2 • THE AGRICULTURALIST • APRIL 2016 WWW.THEAGRICULTURALIST.COM

WWW.THEAGRICULTURALIST.COM APRIL 2016 • THE AGRICULTURALIST • 3

Jamaica is facing a major food deficitwith imports now estimated at US$1 bil-lion. The land of wood and water is im-porting most of the meat, milk, grains andcereals to feed hungry people.

The latest available census on Ja-maican agriculture for the periods 1996-2007, estimates that the total acreage underagricultural production declined by morethan 22 percent.

However, for almost two decades, ourinformal bird-eye view observationsaround the island reveals hundred of acresof lands remain idle. Housing and other in-frastructural development now occupysome of the island’s most arable farmlands.

Until we get the results of anotheragriculture census, we are estimating thatJamaica has lost some 30 percent of itsfarmlands over the last two decades. Theisland’s poor output in coffee, cocoa, co-conut, citrus, fruits and vegetables andlivestock is a sign of a nation that is not re-ally interested in feeding its people.

For the past 30 years, the writingshave been on the road: agriculture is on theslide.

But, the government continues to ig-nore the signs, as well as those people whoare benefiting significantly from the de-mise of the sector.

Agriculture continues to be the feed-ing tree for higglers and other traders of

farm produce. These traders enjoy exces-sively high mark-ups and profit at the ex-pense of the farmers.

For example, a higgler may buy a jellycoconut for $10 and sells that same productfor $90 – just a few miles from the farmgate. That is almost a 90 percent markup.

An example of shortsightedness oc-curred between 1988-2002, as farmerswere beneficiaries of the US Public Law480, also known as "Food for Peace."

Under the programme, the Jamaicanmarket was flooded with an over abun-dance of American foods, including rice,milk, oil and cheese.

Our farmers could not compete, butfood processors and distributors, includingLasco Foods, made millions from therepackaging of US powered milk. After

some 15 years of supplying cheaper foodsto consumers, the PL 480 programmeceased operations because US farmerswere no longer interested in our market.

The farmers’ problems continue to becompounded with the uncontrolled and in-discriminate importation of farm produce.The Ministry of Agriculture has been issu-ing licenses to importers of farm producewithout due regards for its abundance lo-cally.

From fruit juice to chicken backs, im-porters are putting Jamaican farmers out ofbusiness, but no one seems to care as anumber of importers with strong politicalconnections continue to make money forthe “boys.”

Nevertheless, it is disgraceful that de-spite the challenges facing Jamaican farm-ers, a significant number of privilegedpeople continue to reap big rewards as theyenjoy exorbitant profit from the sale andimportation of farm produce.

As our food supplies continue to dryup and the economy struggles to achieveany meaningful growth during the past 30years, this is a challenge that the newlyelected Jamaica Labour Party-government,under the leadership of Andrew Holness,must immediately tackle.

The focus should be on “producingmore food and grow the economy.”

The strategies and perhaps the humanresource capital in agriculture during thepast decades have put us where we aretoday.

We therefore need substantial changesand a dramatic policy shift to meet our ob-jective of producing enough food to ade-quately feed our country.

The shift of the agriculture and fish-eries portfolio to the newly establishednew super Ministry of Industry, Commerceand Agriculture has been hailed as a posi-tive change. However, it must be backedup with resources and strong management.

We can only produce more food andgrow the economy if we put agriculture atthe top of our prosperity agenda.

byPATRICK MAITLAND

Publisher -The Agriculturalist [email protected]

FFooccaa ll PPooiinntt

The opinions expressed in this newspaper, except for the above, do not necessarily reflect the views of The Agriculturalist and its publishers. Please send your com-ments or suggestions to [email protected]. Responses should be no longer than 400 words. Not all articles will be published.

EDITORIAL

Courtesy of Federico Guerrini Forbes Magazine

The agricultural sector is going to faceenormous challenges in order to feed the

9.6 billion people that the FAO predicts aregoing to inhabit the planet by 2050: foodproduction must increase by 70% by 2050,and this has to be achieved in spite of thelimited availability of arable lands, the in-creasing need for fresh water (agricultureconsumes 70 per cent of the world’s freshwater supply) and other less predictable fac-tors, such as the impact of climate change,which, according a recent report by the UNcould lead, among other things, to changesto seasonal events in the life cycle of plantand animals.

One way to address these issues and in-crease the quality and quantity of agriculturalproduction is using sensing technology tomake farms more “intelligent” and moreconnected thorugh the so-called “precisionagriculture” also known as ‘smart farming’.

It’s something that’s already happening,as corporations and farm offices collect vastamounts of information from crop yields,soil-mapping, fertiliser applications, weatherdata, machinery, and animal health. In a sub-set of smart farming, Precision LivestockFarming (PLF), sensors are used for moni-toring and early detection of reproductionevents and health disorders in animals.

Typical monitored data are the bodytemperature, the animal activity, tissues re-sistivity, pulse and the GPS position. SMS

alerts can be sent to the breeder based on pre-defined events, say, if a cow is ready for re-production.

The European Union has sponsoredseveral projects on the topic during the Sev-enth Framework Programme and, now, dur-ing Horizon 2020.

The currently running EU-PLF projectfor instance, is designed to look at the feasi-bility of bringing proven and cost-effectivePrecision Livestock Farming tools from thelab to the farm.

Several private companies are also start-ing to be active in this field, such as Anemon(Switzerland), eCow (UK), Connected Cow(Medria Technologies and DeutscheTelekom.

Smart fishing is at initial stage withsome projects in Europe, South Korea, NorthAmerica and Japan.

“Precision agriculture is not new. Theagricultural vehicle manufacturers (JohnDeere, CNH Global, Class and others) havebeen involved in this segment for some time.

Initially, it was about position technolo-gies (GNSS) mainly, but it is becoming morecomplex moving towards the idea of a con-nected harvester,” Beeachm Research’s prin-cipal analyst, Saverio Romeo tells me.”

Publisher & Editor: Patrick MaitlandConsulting Editors:

Vincent Wright, Jairzenho BaileyProduced & Published by:Agri Life Foundation Ltd

AMC Complex,188 Spanish Town Road,Kingston 11, Jamaica, W.I.Tel: (876) 923-7471• 923-7428

Fax: (876) [email protected]@theagriculturalist.comwww.theagriculturalist.com

The Future of Agriculture? Smart Farming

Excessive Food Imports Hurting farmers!

OPINIONS

Food production mustincrease by 70% by 2050, and this has to be achievedin spite of the limited

resources..!

F H

J

m de im

Continued from page 1Future improvements to drones, includ-

ing better materials, sensors, imaging capa-bilities and more, will continue to fuelgrowth in the ag sector, Eustis says. Dronesand other ag technologies are helping farm-ers make better decisions in near real-time,she says.

“It is a totally different world than walk-

ing out of the farmland, kicking the dirt andmaking a decision based on intuition,” shesays.

To learn more ways drones are beingused on the farm, review potential legal is-sues and safety best practices, access abuyer’s checklist and more, visitwww.agweb.com/drone-zone/.

Agriculture Drone


NEWSSecurity ForcesTarget Marketsand Abattoirs

By Garfield L. Angus (JIS)

As part of the anti-crime plan, the secu-rity forces are targeting abattoirs and

markets, to eliminate the practice of stolenagricultural items being sold at these estab-lishments.

According to Minister of National Se-curity, Robert Montague, praedial larcenyis high on the agenda of the Ministry, andover the last two weeks there have beenseveral raids by the security forces at mar-kets and places where animals are slaugh-tered.

The Minister explained that the anti-crime plan is not just having more policepersonnel on the streets, but to have a pres-ence in places where thieves tend to tradepeople’s goods, stolen from farms and otherplaces.

As part of the anti-crime plan, the se-curity forces are targeting abattoirs andmarkets, to eliminate the practice of stolenagricultural items being sold at these estab-lishments.

He pointed out that this is being doneunder the intensified anti-crime effort,called Operation Tidal Wave, as there is acommitment to protect farmers’ invest-ments from thieves.

“As we seek to increase production,we must ensure that the farmer gets the fullreturn from his investment,” the Ministertold scores of persons attending the 30th an-niversary ceremony of the St. Mary Agri-Expo, held on March 28, at the Grays InnSports Complex, Annotto Bay, in theparish.

-----------------------------------------NutraceuticalFarmers Take

Part in WorkshopNutraceutical farmers in communities fromacross western Jamaica, participated in abusiness opportunity workshop, held at theHoliday Inn Resort, in Montego Bay, onMarch 23.

The workshop was aimed at empower-ing participants to grasp the opportunitiesthat exist within the nutraceutical industry.It was held by the National Commission onScience and Technology (NCST), under thetheme: ‘Nutraceutical business opportunity– expanding locally and abroad’.

Director General of the NCST, ErrolMorrison, informed JIS News that farmersand business persons engaged in the nu-traceutical industry stand to benefit fromthe global industry, which has experiencedsignificant growth in recent years and isprojected to be worth US$600 billion by2018.

“One of the main mandates from theGovernment, has been to focus on the nu-traceutical industry as an up and comingnon-traditional (sector), which will offernew opportunities, job creation and incomegeneration.

obituaries

ROYSTON JOHNSON, 68 Former JAS 2nd vice president

JAS 2nd vicepresident diedLong standing member and former2nd vice president of the JamaicaAgricultural Society (JAS) RoystonJohnson, 68 died on March 7, 2016 afterbattling cancer for many years..

Johnson served over 35 in the agri-cultural sector and was employed by theJAS as Branch Organizer for Portland,St. Ann, Hanover before he was pro-moted in 1987 to the position of Co-op-erative Marketing officer. He resigned hisposition from the Society in September1991.

In 2002, Johnson was selected toserved as Board Representative of St Annand since 2012 was elected 2nd vicepresident of the Society.

JAS president Norman Grant de-scribed Johnson as “a quiet giant whosoldiered with remarkable purpose andcommitment for the development of ourfarmers, the agricultural sector and ourcountry.” Grant also extended condo-lences to family of the late farm leader.

Condolencesto Albert Beale

The CASE Alumni Association ex-presses sincere and heartfelt condo-lences to Ole Farmer Albert Beale (Classof 1976) on the recent passing of his sonMarlon Beale; who made the transitionto be with his maker on Thursday, March03, 2016, under tragic circumstances.

The home going service of thanks-giving for the life and work of the lateMarlon Beale will be held at the St.Joseph Catholic Church, 14 King Street,Spanish Town, St. Catherine on Saturday,April 09, 2016, commencing at 11:00am.

----------------------------------------- Please send obituaries to:

[email protected]

After serving for 15 years as a Senatorfor the Peoples National Party (PNP),

Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Presi-dent Norman Grant was dropped from thelist of opposition senators submitted to theGovernor General following the Feb. 25general elections.Portia Simpson Miller who, in her ca-

pacity as Opposition Leader, did not includeGrant on the list of the eight OppositionSenators she is authorized to nominate.Grant told The Agriculturalist that he

was a “little disappointed” not to be in-cluded, as the Senate has been providing agood forum for him to continue advocatingfor the farmers, and noted that he under-stands the challenges Simpson Miller facedin nominating only eight members.

“I am very happy for the opportunity toserve over the years in the Senate and lookforward to serving in any capacity orforum,” he declared.The opposition senators include: Mark

Golding (Leader of Opposition Business),KD Knight, Floyd Morris, Angela BrownBurke, Wensworth Skeffery, Sophia FraserBinns, Lambert Brown and Noel Sloley.

Grant dropped from the Senate

Norman GrantJAS President

no longer a member of the Senator

JAS opposed to Agricultureunder new super ministry

The President of the Jamaica Agricul-tural Society (JAS), Norman Grant,said members of his organization wouldhave preferred a minister solely responsi-ble for Agriculture, instead of a mergerwith the Industry and Commerce portfo-lios.

However, he noted that agriculture iscritical to the development of the ruralareas and Jamaica overall. He also ex-pressed his support for the new minister.

He said he would want to meet withhim to get clarification on the ministry'smandate, now that it’s merged with Com-merce.

MONTPELIER, ST. JAMES:

Minister without portfolio in the Min-istry of Industry, Commerce, Agricul-

ture and Fisheries, J. C. Hutchinsoncommended exhibitors for the many value-added products on display at the 33rd stag-ing of the Montpelier Agricultural andIndustrial Show in St. James on Easter Mon-day, March 28, noting that Jamaica nowneeded to place greater emphasis on the pro-duction of value-added products.

“Our growth strategy is grow what youeat, eat what you can and can what youcan’t,” said Minister Hutchinson as he en-couraged the exhibitors to expand their pro-duction of value-added products tocommercial quantities targeting the exportmarket.

Among the other initiatives strategiesoutlined by Minister Hutchinson to move theagricultural sector forward were establish-

ment of school gardens in all primary andsecondary schools, implementation of abreakfast programme in primary schools,water harvesting, the re-establishment offarmers’ markets where farmers will estab-lish direct links with the end users and theallocation of more funds for the repair offarm roads.

Noting that agriculture was the base onwhich many of the developed countries,such as China, have moved forward, Minis-ter Hutchinson stressed the importance ofgetting more young people involved in farm-ing.

“We will be getting on board schoolgardens in every primary and high school.We will be providing the fencing, inputs andblack tanks for drip irrigation,” and will beencouraging the RADA extension officers touse these school gardens as demonstrationplots, said Minister Hutchinson.

Hutchinson encourages expansionof value-added products


W l

The government has announced a bail-outof the local sugar industry.Agriculture Minister Karl Samuda told

the House of Representatives on Tuesday,that the operators of sugar companies failedto focus on product diversification and mar-kets after divestment, and now the industryis in a tailspin.

He said as a result, the government willbe operating some factories temporarily: ."As it is right now it is imperative that theLong Pond Sugar factory which is in goodcondition, immediately commence opera-tions in order rescue the over 95,000 tonnesof cane that has so far not been reaped inTrealwny. The principles of Evergladeshave stated t hat they are in no position tostart up the factory due to their financial po-sition and they have allowed the governmentto operate the factory for three months-totake off the cane in Trelawny.

If we fail to reap the cane in Trelawnythis year, we can simply forget about anysugar industry in the parish."

He stated that another sugar company,Pan Caribbean, has indicated that it will notbe able to operate the Monymusk Factory insouthern Clarendon next year.

"These challenges include high operat-ing costs due to irrigation fuel by the JPS,low productivity, widespread theft and lowcane supply. Pan Caribbean has indicatedthat it wishes to hand over the cane growingoperations to independent farmers startingimmediately and the factory to the govern-ment for operation next year.

In the meanwhile, they will continue to

work with the Government of Jamaica to ac-tivate new revenue streams in partnershipwith other investors to return the operationsof Monymusk Factory in 2018," Samudasaid.

At the first Post Cabinet Press briefingfor the Andrew Holness led administration,Information Minister Senator Ruel Reid saidthe decision by Pan Caribbean, which ownsthe Frome, Monymusk and Bernard Lodgesugar factories, to cease production willhave implications for hundreds of sugarworkers.

"The government is moving swiftly tointervene, not to take over the operation butto get other private sector interests to ensurethat the production of cane takes place," hesaid.

He also revealed that Pan Caribbeanhas racked up an accumulated loss of US$60million.

In 2011, the Chinese firm purchased thesugar factories for US$9 million. The facto-ries now need a capital injection of US$200million .

NEWSA bail-out for thesugar industry

ABOUT OUR MINISTERSKarl Samuda, 74 attended Ar-

denne High School in the midl950s. He went on to do further studiesat Lisgar College and the Universityof Ottawa.

He has held senior management po-sitions with major firms including AlcanJamaica Limited, Canadian Broadcast-ing Corporation, Industrial Gases Lim-ited and National Woodcraft Limited.

He has distinguished himself in thefield of politics and has been the mem-ber of parliament for St. Andrew NorthCentral since 1989.

He served in various posts in JLP in-cluding General Secretary as well asMinister of State in the Ministry of In-dustry and Commerce and Minister ofState in the Ministry of Health. He hasalso served as a member of the ElectoralAdvisory Committee.

A practising Roman Catholic, KarlSamuda is married with three sons.

His motto is “There is no substitutefor hard work.”

William James Charles (J.C.)Hutchinson, 73 former Minis-

ter of State for Agriculture is a vet-eran politician and an avid farmer.

He first entered the political arenain 1979, when he was elected Memberof Parliament for the constituency ofNorth Eastern St. Elizabeth - a positionthat he held for 10 years.

During his tenure as Member ofParliament for North Eastern St. Eliza-beth, Mr. Hutchinson served as Parlia-mentary Secretary in the Ministry ofEducation (1980 -1983).

Between 1989 and 1997 he turnedhis focus back to the land and to hisfarm, which is his passion. However, hereturned to representational politics in1997, having been elected Member ofParliament for North Western St. Eliza-beth.

Hutchinson represented this con-stituency for more than a decade andwas appointed Minister of State forAgriculture in 2007-2011.

A father of three children, he seesincreased production and productivitythrough the infusion of modern technol-ogy, as one of the imperatives for a sus-tainable sector.

He is divorced with three children.He attended Knox College, Munro Col-lege and Cornell University in NewYork, USA. A farmer by profession,Hutchinson’s work history includespart-time teacher and football coach atSt. Elizabeth Technical High.

KARL SAMUDA Minister of Industry,

Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries

JC HUTCHINSONMinister without Portfolio Ministry of Industry,

Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries

Look out for FARMERS’ ALMANAC 2017

book adverts and copies923-7471

[email protected] CB Group - poses with a bag of the Nutramix – The BIG Feed! at StMary Show. Nutramix offers a full range of mash, crumbled or pelletedfeeds for poultry, pig, cattle, horse, goat, sheep and more.


In keeping with its mission of promotingenvironmentally friendly as well as ef-fective and economical pest control solu-tions, AgroGrace recently launched a lowtoxicity insecticide, Tracer 120 SC.

According to AgroGrace, generalmanager Olive Downer-Walsh, Tracer ismanufactured by world renown agrochem-ical company, Dow AgroSciences and ispractically non-toxic to predaceous and

beneficial insects. The product receivedthe top environmental honor from severalcountries including US government Presi-dential Green Chemistry Challenge Award(EPA news) in 1999.

As required by Jamaican Laws, Traceris approved by the Pesticide Control Au-thority for use in Jamaica.

Tracer is most effective in the controlof sucking insect pests including aphids,

thrips, leafhoppers, leafminers, mealybugs,armyworms as well as caterpillars. “As aselective insecticide it is also very effec-tive for use in vegetables, condiments andorchard crops,” she adds.

Over 100 stakeholders including farm-ers, technical staff from the Ministry ofAgriculture/RADA and AgroGrace partic-ipated in field day and official launch ofTracer 120 SE.

The event was held on the farm of Patrickand Fay Simpson in Todd Town, St. Eliza-beth last Wednesday.

AgroGrace as the leading distributorof pesticides and other farm inputs remainscommitted to the provision of innovativeand cost effective solutions in support ofJamaica’s drive towards food security.

Technical and management staff of AgroGrace-Hardware and Lumber take the field at the officail launch of TRACER 120 SC in Todd Town, St. Elizabeth lastweek.Tracer is a very effective and economical insect control product which works rapidly like other synthetic insecticides but has a very low toxicity.

AgroGrace launches another low toxicity insecticide -Tracer

ROME:

World food prices edged up in March,as sharp rises in sugar and vegetable

oil prices more than offset a plunge indairy prices, the United Nations foodagency said on Thursday.

The Food and Agriculture Organiza-tion's (FAO) food price index, whichmeasures monthly changes for a basket ofcereals, oilseeds, dairy products, meat andsugar, averaged 151.0 points in March

against a downwardly revised 149.5 pointsthe month before.

The index remains near a seven-yearlow after four consecutive annual declines.FAO gave its first forecast for world cere-als output in 2016-17 at 2.521 billiontonnes, which would be 4 million tonneslower than last year's level but still thethird-highest performance on record.

Food prices on international marketsin March were almost 12 percent lowerthan a year ago, FAO said.

World food prices edge up in March

These ladies of Team Hi-Pro Feeds take a time-out from promoting Hi-Pro Rewards to smile for the camera at the Hague Agri Show.


Rural Agricultural Development AuthorityHope Gardens, Kingston 6, Jamaica, WI. Tel: 876-977-1158-64 • Fax: 876-970-4077

www.rada.gov.jm

By RAMIZ PARCHMENT

With the Jamaican Senate re-cently passing the Dangerous

Drug Amendment Bill, fears remainthat the federal government of theUnited States may halt further plansof legalizing marijuana should theJamaican government expand theirproposed marijuana reform.

The marijuana bill is now ex-pected to be taken to the House ofRepresentatives in March 2015 forit to be deliberated on. However, Inthe past, the federal branch of theU.S government have been unsup-portive of the legalization of mari-juana market within the UnitedStates.

In November 2014, PresidentObama’s nominated U.S. AttorneyLoretta Lynch to replace current At-torney General of the United StatesEric Holder. The nominee reiteratedthat she does not support the legal-ization of marijuana.

However, with many U.Sstates either legalizing or pushing tolegalize the marijuana market, theJamaican government is adamantnot to be left behind. Despite that,they are fully aware that they threada steady line between benefitingfrom marijuana reform and anger-ing their largest trading partners(the United States) and current in-ternational treaties.

There are three treaties thatregulate the consumption, manu-facture, research and trafficking ofnarcotics.

The Single Convention onNarcotic Drugs of 1961 as amendedby the 1972 Protocol, Conventionon Psychotropic Substances of1971, and United Nations Conven-tion against Illicit Traffic in Nar-cotic Drugs, and PsychotropicSubstances of 1988.

Jamaica is a signator of allthree treaties.

For many years, Jamaica hasbeen a transhipment hub for nar-cotics flowing in from South andCentral America into the UnitedStates. Questions still remainswhether the Jamaican governmentwill be in negotiation with the U.S.should the island state develop fur-ther plans of marijuana reform.

According to the Counselor forPublic Affairs at the US Embassy inKingston, Joshua Polacheck, theUnited States will not discouragethe Jamaican government from im-plementing its own laws and regu-lation on the local marijuana marketas long as it is in accordance of cur-rent international treaties.

“The U.S position on Ja-maica’s ganja legalization is as longas Jamaica respect its internationalcommitment, the three United Na-

tions Conventions on drugs, its do-mestic drug control regime is a sov-ereign decision and the U.S.welcomes debates and discussionon the drug issue.”

Delving further into the issue,Polacheck states that the UnitedStates government is not botheredby decriminalization of small quan-tities of marijuana consumed butrather on the the transshipment andcorruption brought on from traf-ficking.

“Our focus with the Jamaicansecurity forces is not on small scaleconsumption here in Jamaica but onthe transnational violent criminalswho spread violence and corruptionacross the hemisphere, those are the

people we are worried about.”However, these comments contra-dict earlier statements made by asenior member of the InternationalNarcotics and Law EnforcementAffairs (INL). The assistant secre-tary of (INL), William R Brown-field, stated that Jamaica isthreading a dangerous line with po-tential legalization of the marijuanamarket.

“I would not necessarily walkdown the same road that some inthe Government and Parliament ofJamaica are choosing to walk.”

He added that, “I can assureyou that, from the US side, we willcontinue to pursue maximum ef-forts to prevent any import in the

United States and we will requestand expect complete co-operationfrom law enforcement authorities ofthe Government of Jamaica in elim-inating this sort of trafficking.”

However, he maintained thatthe marijuana market within Ja-maica is a sovereignty issue andthat as long as Jamaica continues toremain in accordance to the threeinternational narcotics treaties thenthere will be no problem.

“That said, my position wasquite clearly stated in the begin-ning; we must have tolerance andaccept that different countries willaddress their drug issues in differ-ent ways so long as they are com-mitted to the fundamental purposesof the three international conven-tions and that is to reduce the dam-age, to reduce the harm andeventually to reduce the abuse ofthese products, including cannabis,or marijuana, or ganja to the citi-zens of the world”

Unlike Uruguay and Amster-dam, Jamaica’s push to legalizemarijuana will have a direct effecton domestic policies and interna-tional law and with an upcomingsummit in 2016 Jamaica’s Legal-ization of marijuana will continueto be a topic that will foster discus-sion not just for Jamaica but also forthe United States.

Jamaica’s Marijuana Legalization: Will The U.S. Halt Jamaica’s Plan For Marijuana Legalization?

Marijuana plant


BY DR. ADRIAN SPENCEResearch Scientist

1. Plant bacterization: an option for cli-mate-smart agriculture co-benefiting foodsecurity and climate mitigation and adap-tation

Motivation-Despite significant scien-tific and technological advancementsacross the agricultural sector, close to 1 bil-lion inhabitants of tropical and sub-tropi-cal countries face food insecurity.Constrained by other environmental andnon-ecological factors, this situation is ex-pected to worsen due to anthropogenic cli-mate change coupled with unprecedentedpopulation growth, which is likely to swellfrom seven to nine billions by 2050.

When considered together, it thereforemeans agriculture is being pushed to bal-ance increased demands for food whilemaintaining ecosystem structure and func-tion amid numerous Anthropocene forc-ings (e.g. drought, increased incidence ofpests—including insects, plant pathogensand weeds—land degradation, desertifica-tion and wild fires).

Drought is perhaps the most economi-cally significant global environmentalchange component with widespread impli-cations for food and sustainability of waterresources. Each year, droughts result in sig-nificant socioeconomic losses and majorecological damage worldwide.

Currently, agriculture accounts forapproximately 70% of the world’s freshwater usage, but with an increase in the fre-quency and intensity of drought conditionsit is critical that the sector finds ways tominimize encroachment on sensitiveecosystems by lowering water usage whilstsimultaneously improving yields to ensureglobal food security.

Previously, several approaches havebeen employed to address global food se-curity. However, many of these endeavourshave been overwhelmed, as they were notdesigned with climate change mitigationand adaptation in mind.

Given these confounding factors, theneed for sustainable agriculture at multiplescales has never been more pressing. In re-sponse to these global challenges, ex-panded use of plant growth-promotingrhizobacteria (PGPR) in agro systems isbeing proposed as a natural modulator ofclimate-smart agriculture that will co-ben-efit long-term food security and climatechange mitigation and adaptation.

Typically, by establishing a symbioticrelationship with plant roots and seeds(plant-microbial interactions), PGPR stim-ulate (microbial-altered genetic expres-sion) plant growth, seedling establishment,confer pest and disease resistance, as wellas reduce biotic or abiotic plant stressthrough a number of direct and indirectmode of actions, and critically, withoutconferring pathogenicity.

Moreover, the application of PGPR inagro systems is expected to reduce the bur-

den of chemicals in the environment, aswell as the incidence of pest resistance toconventional chemical treatments, whileoffering a more economical managementoption to farmers.

Accumulation of high levels of trace metals in

agricultural soils2. Constraining the bioavailability oftrace metals in soils developed on WhiteLimestone Supergroups in Jamaica andassessing the impact of sustainable soilamendments on metal mobility and trans-fer to crop plants.

Motivation-The accumulation of highlevels of trace metals in agricultural soilsis an issue of paramount importance dueto he potential adverse influence on soilhealth, crop quality and the environment.However, when assessing the risks posedby metal-contaminated soils, determinationof the bioavailable fraction—differentchemical forms under different physico-chemical conditions—is more importantthan the total metal content.

Where the bioavailability fraction ofa metal is determined to exceed acceptablelevels, we monitor the possible effects ofsustainable soil amendments (e.g. biochar)

on the mobility and transfer rate of themetal to plants.

Biochar is a carbon-rich residue gen-erated from the burning of biomass in anoxygen-free environment and has beenshown to improve the biogeochemicalproperties of soils by increasing waterholding capacity, boosting nutrient reten-tion, immobilizing toxic metal species andimproving soil structure.

This, in turn, can boost productivityand restore degraded and contaminatedsoils. Additionally, due to its stable nature,

the application of biochar to soils is viewedas a buffer against rising atmospheric CO2concentrations and as a sustainable ap-proach to mitigate against global environ-ment change.

Greenhouse gas contributing toglobal warming

3. Monitoring of soil-atmosphericCO2 flux and assessing possibleshifts in plant nutrition due to ris-ing atmospheric CO2 concentra-tions.

Motivation - Carbon dioxide is the im-portant greenhouse gas contributing toglobal warming. Understanding howsources and sinks for CO2 vary in bothtime and space can be important in evalu-ating the potential impacts of different landcovers and management practices on theenvironment and human health.

The emission of CO2 from soils to theatmosphere (soil CO2 flux) represents asignificant component of the total atmos-pheric carbon balance, and it is a very im-portant variable in any study of globalclimate change. As the largest componentof ecosystem respiration, soil CO2 flux istherefore crucial for understanding soil car-bon sequestration potential and soil carbondynamics.

Moreover, the movement of gasesacross the soil-atmosphere interface alsoprovides an important link to below-ground processes and can be used as astrong indicator of the biological healthand vigor of a soil and is useful tool toevaluate the efficacy of bioremediation ef-forts and the impact of changing agricul-tural practices. One approach being used tocharacterize sources and sinks for CO2 isto integrate spatial data with concurrent ob-servations of CO2 concentrations and/orfluxes across the local landscape.

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RESEARCHERS’ UPDATEEnhancing agricultural productivity

and climate change adaptation

Dr. Adrian Spence is Research Scientist and head, Spectroscopy Research Lab; Team leader, (bio)geochemistry and global change at the International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sci-ence, University of the West Indies, Mona. He may be contacted at [email protected]


HEALTH & NUTRITIONNutriCare

ByGloria Bent, MS, RD, CDN - Nutritionist

Questions &Comments: [email protected]: Raw Michelle (NaturalNews)

Rather than waiting a case of the snifflesout or reaching for over-the-counter

cough syrup, consider fighting a cold withsomething that's likely already in thekitchen: pineapple.

According to studies, the tropical fruit,along with other ingredients, has beenshown to be effective in proving relief tothose with tuberculosis as well as those whohave coughing issues such as hacking.

In one case, it was shown that a mix-ture of raw pineapple juice, raw honey,cayenne pepper and salt helped dissolve themucus in the lungs of tuberculosis patients.

In another instance, researchers foundthat the raw extracts from pineapple had theability to decrease mucus five times fasterthan over-the-counter cough syrup and helppatients recover 4.8 times faster. Over-all, the fruit was found to offer relief acrossthe board when it came to coughing symp-toms, hacking in particular.

Why pineapple is an effective natural cough syrup

Pineapple is effective in helping to keepcoughs at bay primarily for two reasons.The fruit contains bromelain, which is anenzyme responsible for fighting inflamma-tion and aiding in digestion. Coupled withthe fact that it also has a great deal of the

mineral manganese, which aids in the for-mation of connective tissue and improvingnerve function, and it's easy to see how ithelps fight coughs and diminish mucusbuild-up in lungs.

According to the George MateljanFoundation website, The World's HealthiestFoods, pineapple is an excellent source ofvitamin C which fights free radicals and, inturn, allows airways to function more ef-fectively. "In addition, vitamin C is vital forthe proper function of the immune system,making it a nutrient to turn to for the pre-vention of recurrent ear infections, colds,and flu," the site states.

Pineapple has many other health bene-fits in addition to acting as a natural coughsyrup. It has been shown to provide arthri-tis relief, help combat cancers of the breast,throat and mouth, and manage blood pres-sure.

Pineapple found to be five timesmore effective than cough syrup

Hunger•Usually occurs when you haven't eatenfor a few hours or more•Results in a rumbling stomach, headacheor feeling of weakness•Doesn't pass with time•Isn't just for one specific food•Can be satisfied by a healthy snack ormeal

Craving•Are usually for comfort foods, such aschocolate, sweets and fatty foods•Are often caused by negative feelings•Lead to eating that makes you feel good atfirst, but then guilty•May be stronger when you're dieting, es-pecially if you're giving up your favoritefoods•Can occur even after you've recentlyeaten•Pass with time

How to deal with craving•Distract yourself: Try calling a friend, lis-tening to music, taking a walk or bike ride, •reading, or writing. •If a negative feeling is causing your crav-ing, use Stress reduction techniques mightinclude taking a long hot bath, walking, re-laxation exercises, or yoga•Drink a glass of water before giving in toa craving. Sometimes when you thinkyou're hungry, you're really just thirsty•Make lower calorie choices wheneverpossible

Hunger vs Craving

FRESHLY REAPED PINEAPPLES:Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, Karl Samuda (4th r) examines samples of the freshly reapedMD2 variety of pineapples along with (l-r) Donovan Stanberry, permanent secretary in the Ministry; Damian Graham, gen-eral manager Fresh Division , JP Tropical Foods Ltd, and Charles Johnston chairman of Jamaica Producers Group dur-ing a farm tour at Jamaica Producers on Easter Monday, March 28. The Minister, along with representatives from theMinistry and local and international partners visited the farms to take a first- hand look at new sweet potato and pineap-ple varieties being cultivated under a Ministry programme. He later attended the Annual St Mary Agricultural Show held atGray’s Inn, Agualta Vale in the parish.

April is NationalFarmers’ Month The Jamaica Agricultural Society

(JAS) will celebrate National Farm-ers’ Month during the month of Aprilunder the theme “Grow what we eat...eatwhat we grow.”

Farmers’ month marks a period inthe farmers’ calendar when among otheractivities, we honour and recognize theinvaluable contribution of our farmers.

The main features of this celebra-tion to be attended by the Minister of In-dustry, Commerce, Agriculture andFisheries will include:

• National Thanksgiving Ecumeni-cal Service at the Eastwood Park NewTestament Church of God, 51 EastwoodPark Road, Kingston 10 on Sunday April3, 2016 commencing at 10:30 a.m.

• The launch on Wednesday April 6,2016 at the JAS Head Office, 67 ChurchStreet, Kingston, commencing at 9:00a.m.

• JAS National Food ProductionSummit on Thursday April 21, 2016 at8:30 am – 4:30 pm at the Jamaica Con-ference Centre 14 - 20 Port Royal Street.

There will also be a series of activ-ities within the parishes with the mainfocus of highlighting the importance offarmers to national development.

For more information, please con-tact:

Jamila Francis – PRO-JAS/ PatriciaJackson – Executive Secretary-JASTel: 922-0610-2 or 948-2901

FARM TIPKeep animals in good health. An animal in pain and discomfort can react aggressively.


EDUCATION

The Praedial Larceny Prevention Unit(PLPU) in the Ministry of Industry,

Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries, isinviting students to participate in its inau-gural essay competition.

Praedial Larceny Prevention Coordi-nator, Trudy-Ann Edwards, said the com-petition forms part of the PLPU’s publiceducation campaign to sensitise Jamaicansto the devastating impact of praedial lar-ceny on the agricultural sector and thelivelihood of farmers.

Deadline for submission is Friday,April 29. For further information personsmay visit the Ministry’s website or call927-1731, ext. 2228.

The PLPU, is inviting students to par-ticipate in its inaugural essay competition.Primary school students, ages nine to 12years, and secondary level students, be-tween 13 and 18 years old, are invited to

enter. It is also open to members of the Ja-maica 4-H Clubs.

Students at the primary level are re-quired to write an essay of no more than500 words on the topic: How does Prae-dial Larceny affect the farmers in yourcommunity? while secondary level stu-dents are required to submit a 1,500-wordessay in response to the question: Whatare the socio-economic impacts of prae-dial larceny on the Jamaican agriculturalsector?

The application forms can be down-loaded from the Ministry’s website atwww.moa.gov.jm.

Essays must be submitted via email [email protected] or mailed to: Trudy-Ann Edwards, Praedial Larceny PreventionCoordinator, Ministry of Industry, Com-merce, Agriculture and Fisheries, HopeGardens, Kingston.

CASE STUDENTS GET SCHOLARSHIPS AWARDS: Executive members of the Old Farmers Association of North America (OFANA) Wendell Codner, president; Terrence Johnson, assistant treasurer; Norma Jarrett, vice-president of North East Region; and Balford Banton, vice-president of Georgia Region pose with scholarship awardees including Omelia Barrett; Kadejak Bennett;Anthony Brown; Moya Campbell; Calbert Green; Heron Miller; Hashani Mitchell and Sheleen Panton. The students who attend College of Agriculture, Science andEducation (CASE) were presented with scholarship grant valued at US$8,000 during the annual staging of the College’s Founders’ Day held on January 2016 at thePort Antonio-based college. Over the past ten years scholarship with an cumulative value of US$28,500 or J$3.4M were awarded to twenty five students.

Praedial Larceny PreventionUnit Stages Essay Competition

Livestock students of the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE)pose with their prize-winning dairy heifer at St Mary Agri Expo held on March 28.

In its continuous bid to promote youth en-trepreneurship and its mitigating effect onhigh rates of youth unemployment, the Ja-maica 4-H Clubs will stage its flagship Na-tional Achievement Expo at the DenbighShowground, Clarendon on Friday, April 29.

Being held under the theme: “Youth En-trepreneurship; Stimulating EconomicGrowth and Development,” the event, in ad-dition to its regular features of the Agri Tech-nology Park, the Agri TechnologyCompetition, Healthy Lifestyle Village, 4-HCook Off, Cubbies Village and Educational,General and Project Work displays will alsoshowcase the new and exciting Young Farm-ers’ Business Clinic.

“This new feature will provide the outletfor all youth with ideas at the concept stage or

products or business in their early stages tocome and get the necessary business advice tomove forward,” said 4-H Clubs Executive Di-rector, Dr. Ronald Blake.

The 4-H Clubs he added have been con-ducting programmes such as the Youth Eco-nomic Empowerment Programme, (YEEP)which provides training and inputs to youngfarmers in areas including apiculture and cropproduction as well as in tandem with the Na-tional Commission on Science and Technol-ogy, (NCST) and the Scientific ResearchCouncil, (SRC) the Young NutraceuticalFarmers Training Programme which has sofar produced two batches of graduates. Part-nerships with the HEART Trust NTA and theNYS have also yielded positive results in en-trepreneurial training.

He added that the goal of realising100,000 members in April, a fitting birthdaygift for the organisation which celebrates its76th Anniversary on April 1 was within reachand would be duly celebrated at the event.Currently, the organisation boasts 94,030members islandwide.

The Jamaica 4-H Clubs just recently con-cluded its 75th Anniversary celebrations onMarch 31.

The National Achievement Expo whichhas seen as many as 6000 patrons will alsohave an Official Ceremony and Prize GivingExercise as well as patrons coming in to havehealth checks and accessing the services ofthe RGD and PICA among other highlights.

Admission to the event is $200 for adultsand $100 for children.

4-H Clubs to stage Achievement Expo

A 4H Clubbite sews with her hands

the agriculturalist newspaper - april 2016

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