By KC Soares, ContributorTHERE HAS been a lot of talk on how one should stem the flow of migration from rural to urban areas. This migration results in the overcrowding of cities, Kingston in particular, as people come in search of jobs which are nowhere to be found.
As a means of survival, some of these unemployed persons turn to crime in different forms and become victims of the growing drug industry mainly as couriers plying international routes.
It is commonly accepted that if jobs are available in rural areas then this should be an incentive for people to remain in these areas. These jobs should be meaningful jobs that can provide returns attractive to the workers. Many persons recommend agricultural jobs, but these jobs do not now generate the level of profits that would attract persons, especially the young among us.
As I see it, few young people at this time is willing to labour on a farm for years only to get just a pittance in return. Take for example, the situation with coffee I highlighted a few weeks ago. A coffee farmer after labouring for three years nets just about $200 per box for his coffee while the middleman who purchases the same box of coffee nets over $5,000 in a few days. Clearly, it is attractive to be a middleman but certainly unattractive being a coffee farmer. If the plan is to encourage people back to the land then mechanisms must be put in place to make farming attractive. Just giving people land free or at very attractive lease terms ($10 per acre per annum for 49 years with option to purchase) is just not good enough.
We need to end rural neglect by encouraging rural development to support agriculture and other economic activities such as cottage industries, fishing, factories and agro-industries. What is also necessary is the development of the rural sectors into viable socio-economic entities.
Another problem is that the talent among us must also be encouraged to stay within our shores. With the spread of globalisation, this is of even greater importance. The old colonial thinking that foreigners are better equipped to solve our problems must be removed from our minds. In many cases when foreigners are contracted to solve particular problems, it is the local people who actually solve the problems and the credit given to the foreigner. Things like these frustrate our own local talent which then migrates and leave us all in a worse position.
Let me illustrate a classic example. Some time ago, the Banana Industry Board was concerned with the high evidence of scarring on bananas. The scarring reduced the saleability of the fruits. ``Scarred fruits were not exported, as no one was interested in buying such fruits. To solve this problem of scarring, the Banana Industry Board sent to England for an "expert" to determine what was scarring bananas. (By the way, do they grow bananas in England?)
The expert came and was housed in the Jamaica Pegasus for six months. During this time, he was afforded three trips back to England. He was given a rented car to travel the entire island. During his travels, he asked the local farmers what was scarring the bananas. The farmers told him that thrips (tiny flies), slugs and crickets were the culprits. After six months the expert wrote a report that thrips, slugs and crickets were the causative agents. This report was submitted to the Banana Industry Board and the expert collected his hefty fee and returned to England. Problem solved.
Now there were many Jamaicans who could have done much better than this English expert and at a fraction of the cost incurred. This attitude is not encouraging to local expertise and in fact forces the migration of talent. The solution to our problems lies among us and all that there needs to be is a recognition of the good people that can make the difference. We need to rid ourselves of the century old position that what is foreign is good and what is local is no good.
I do appreciate that the problems are complex but they are definitely not insurmountable. We need to start from the basics. First, we have to rethink development priorities and plan the economy in the best interest of all. The present lopsided development can only benefit the elites in our society in an economy that needs to be better planned.
K. C. Soares is a former banker and is now a business consultant with Soledad Financial Services Limited. E-mail: soledad@netcomm-jm.com.
