Green wants regional framework to move agricultural labour across borders

WESTERN BUREAU:

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green is calling for a regional framework to allow farm workers across the Caribbean to move between countries as governments struggle to attract young people into the sector, which is said to be facing a growing labour crisis.

Green made the call during a panel discussion on Wednesday at the ongoing 20th Caribbean Week of Agriculture at the Ocean Coral Spring Resort, in Trelawny, after Althea McKenzie, host of Farm Talk on Radio Jamaica 94 FM, raised concerns about the availability of labour across the region.

According to Green, young people entering agriculture increasingly want to own businesses rather than work on farms.

“What I find with the young people going into agriculture now, they want to be owners. They want to be owners of their own agriculture enterprise. So it does mean you still have a challenge in relation to the labour force,” he said.

He said technology must therefore be used to make farmers more productive, pointing to agricultural drones and small tractors already being introduced in Jamaica.

However Green said technology will not entirely solve the labour shortage.

He said technology must therefore be used to make farmers more productive, pointing to agricultural drones and small tractors already being introduced in Jamaica. He nonetheless stated that technology will not entirely solve the labour shortage.

“We need a framework that works for the movement of agricultural workers across the region. I think it’s one of the things that can help in a big way,” he said.

He pointed to Dominica, where he said a framework for agricultural migrant workers had allowed about 200 workers to enter the country, benefiting 80 farmers and increasing productivity.

“We’ve been afraid because we’ve been insular,” said Green, in arguing that Caribbean workers should have opportunities to work in agriculture across the region, provided there is proper monitoring.

CHANGING ASPIRATIONS

Rodwell Ferguson, Belize’s minister of agriculture, food security and new growth industries, said the labour challenge is linked partly to the changing educational aspirations of young people.

“Maybe 30, 40 years ago, then there was a need for a labour force, and it was there,” Ferguson said, noting that Belize previously relied on workers from Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador, but that has changed as young people pursue higher education.

“That no longer happens because young people are getting opportunities to go to high school, sixth form, universities, master’s degree, doctorate degree,” Ferguson explained.

He further stated that the decline in interest in agriculture can also be seen in schools.

“When you go to third and fourth form, it is elective. When you reach that point, the agriculture class diminishes to practically five students,” he said.

Ferguson also stated that the region must find ways to make agriculture attractive while using technology to compensate for the declining workforce.

“It is critical. It is crucial and let us hope if we divert into smart agriculture, they will want to participate because we must be able to feed ourselves,” he said.

He also called for governments to reduce bureaucratic delays that can discourage agricultural investment and slow the implementation of projects.

Other members of Wednesday’s plenary discussion, held under the theme ‘Unlocking Private Sector Partnerships and Expanding Investment in Agriculture and Fisheries Development’, included Dr David Lowe, managing director of the Development Bank of Jamaica; Dave Fairman, vice-president of The Best Dressed Chicken; Trudy Wilson, co-director of Cobra Ranch; and Dr Carey Wallace, executive director of the Tourism Enhancement Fund.

albert.ferguson@gleanerjm.com