OVERVIEW OF THE ‘EAT JAMAICAN’ CAMPAIGN

The ‘Eat Jamaican’ campaign was launched by the late Governor General of Jamaica Sir Howard Cooke, through a proclamation that was issued on November 25, 2003, declaring November 25 annually as Eat Jamaican Day. The main aim of the campaign was to “reposition the Jamaica agricultural sector through a process of integrated rural development, as well as to develop a programme of sustainable food security”.

This campaign is normally commemorated through a series of activities that seeks to capture the essence of the proclamation as set out by the late governor general.

It was borne out of a vision for us as a nation to ‘grow what we eat and eat what we grow’, recognising that this is the way to reposition the agricultural sector through a process of integrated rural development as well as to develop a program of sustainable food security.

Additionally, the Eat Jamaican campaign was borne out of the need to encourage consumers to recognise, support, and to have a greater appreciation for the range and quality of Jamaica’s agricultural produce and products.

It is the hope that with the support of consumers, policymakers and the farmers, that this campaign will result in a greater consumption of Jamaican agricultural produce that will continue to increase local food production, as well as enhancing Jamaican branded products to ensure consistency in the supply.

It has been the task of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) to urge consumers to recognise, support and to have a greater appreciation for the range and quality of Jamaica’s agricultural produce and products.

The objectives of the campaign are:

1. To re-establish the fact that Jamaica is an agricultural country; that our richest heritage accrues from rural farming communities; that all our best attitudes and values are to be found in the traditional Jamaican ‘country life’; and that central to our Jamaican culture is the food that we produce and the ways in which we prepare them.

2. Provide information on the dimensions of Jamaica’s farming sector, f rom the small subsistent farmer to the large farming operations; the economic importance in terms of jobs and income generation; the success stories, as well as the struggle for survival.

3. To lift the morale of our farmers and their communities, reawaken their appetite for production, while, at the same time, attracting new and young farmers to the sector.

4. To reposition the Jamaica Agricultural Society as the viable and relevant farmers’ organisation adding value to its membership by helping to create an atmosphere where wealth can be generated for all through the influencing of policies that will benefit the sector.

5. To celebrate the glories of the Jamaican cuisine culture, many examples of which are the heart and soul of food festivals.

6. To promote the linkages between the agricultural and tourism sectors.

7. The need to solicit the support of citizens to choose quality local produce.

A campaign to get more Jamaicans to support the local agriculture industry is critical to the future of the nation.

This campaign has to be part and parcel of the initiative necessary for the reorientation of Jamaicans’ psyche. Many of the developed countries that transitioned from an agrarian to an industrial society did so through increased productivity in agriculture.

Eating Jamaican is about promoting Jamaican food to our people, and to our tourists, as well as making a conscious decision to purchase local produce in the supermarket. This can make a significant difference to rural development and put more money in farmers’ pockets.

We must start that process of true independence, and many would agree that food security is one of the most important facets of true independence. There is no economic activity that has a greater multiplier effect than money that is made from farming.

The experience of the worldwide food crisis of 2007, where net food-exporting countries banned exports, has taught us that, strategically, it is not good sense to depend on other countries for our staples. If we recall, the crisis had its origins in the rising world market prices of food commodities, in particular of wheat, rice, soya and maize, resulting in an increase in the cost of food imports and in the percentage of household budgets devoted to food.

Fuel price hikes are threatening to wreak havoc on the food supply chain, paring production and pushing up prices for pandemic-weary consumers. In Europe, the energy crisis has spread to the fertiliser industry, with the risk of tighter food supplies and even higher prices. In Jamaica, there are genuine concerns that it will fuel further price increases for farmers.

The Eat Jamaican tenets have become even more purposeful as the nation battles the global COVID-19 pandemic and its debilitating effects on the society. There is a real need, therefore, to consume local agricultural produce that are filled with antioxidants, vitamins and minerals to boost the immune system. We, as a country, have done moderately well in the last 18 years, not only from the standpoint of people’s psyche being changed gradually, but also from the supply side in terms of increased agricultural production.

This increase in agricultural production can be attributed to the hard work of the over 230,000 farmers, 75 per cent of whom only own 15 per cent of the land averaging less than one acre, heavy dependence on rain-fed agriculture; but who ensure that we are fed.

If one should posit a position, there could be a strong connection between the high crime rate and incidents of urban decay. Further, rural development will not happen unless there are sustained economic activities in our rural spaces, in addition to fundamentals to make rural life prosperous, i mproved and increased with economic activities.

It is time to move from the talk to the reality, as that linkage could increase agricultural production several folds.

Additionally, if we analyse

the amount of food that is consumed in our hotels and the tourism sector, generally, even in a pandemic, the result is sufficient to stimulate and expand agricultural production across Jamaica, if we are deliberate in making the linkages between the farm and the hotel sector.

When we as a country support local agriculture, and the Eat Jamaican campaign, we are deliberately providing a basis for economic expansion in our rural spaces; especially youth involvement in agriculture, as part of efforts to improve recognition of the sector’s contribution to Jamaica, and encourage more persons to become involved in farming.

As we urge consumers today to ‘Eat Jamaican’, in the same breath we urge the farmers to increase production and to become more integrally involved in taking themselves to the next level, by offering value-added products with attractive packaging. The important point is, to mobilise production, marketing and the skill to make the campaign a success.

The Eat Jamaican campaign is significant to Jamaica at this time, given the potential global food crisis and the difficulties being experienced in the international financial markets.

The Jamaica Agricultural Society recognises the importance of supporting local production in order to ensure the stability of the agricultural sector and, by extension, nation- building.