THE CAMPAIGN launched by the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) to encourage greater consumption of local food is aimed primarily at addressing the nation's trade imbalance. We cannot be comfortable with a situation in which the 2002 import bill for food was some $23.2 billion. A 23 per cent decline in agricultural production over the period 1995 to 2002 accounted for the loss of an estimated 33,200 jobs in the sector. These figures are sobering indeed and call us as a nation to stop and look at where we are going. Various strategies have been proposed to halt the slide but despite tariffs imposed by the Ministry of Agriculture on imported food items like chicken and vegetables, the scales continue to weigh heavily against us. It is against that background that we come to the 'Eat Jamaican' campaign.While the JAS must be commended for the effort to 'save agriculture', the fact is that Jamaican consumers have acquired certain tastes which will not be changed overnight. In the current global environment, food is one of the components of life which has become more globalised than almost any other. Thanks to the impact of advertising and the power of 'big business', culinary tastes around the world are becoming more eclectic, responding especially to the lure of North American 'fast foods'. Fried chicken and hamburgers are to be found in almost every corner of the globe with young people especially drawn to such cuisine because of the heavy promotion as requisite of pop culture.
Jamaica is no different. It is estimated that even in the poorest households, a significant part of family income goes on fast foods. Local ground provisions, once staples in the diet of Jamaicans of all classes, are pushed aside for 'fries', made from imported potatoes. The local meat and poultry industry still has to press hard to get an equitable share of the "fast protein" market. Despite warnings of the impact on health (diabetes and hypertension are said to be on the rise due to grease-laden diets) the trend continues to grow.
As in every situation, however, there is some light in the darkness. A number of fast-food operations have incorporated home-grown ingredients into their menus, to the benefit of local industry and they are to be congratulated. The challenge then for the 'Eat Jamaican' campaign is to create a holistic vision of how local food is used and to develop appropriate strategies for positive results.
There is need for a more pro-active, value-added approach, incorporating appropriate technology to create pre-packaged, ready-for-the-pot local produce. In an environment where more women work outside the home and fewer go into domestic service, there is little time for peeling yams and grating coconut. Other societies have been capitalising on this trend, as a survey of local supermarket shelves will show. There is no reason why we should be importing processed coconut products, for instance, or why freezer cases should not include ready to cook ground provisions. We have the ingredients right here. What is required is quick and easy access for the consumer and incentive and encouragement for the producer.
There should be no stigma attached to Jamaican food either. There is an impressive array of accomplished culinary artists whose skills have been recognised even beyond our shores. Their talents and capabilities should be harnessed to convince the doubters that Jamaican cuisine can be as 'name brand' as any other. The possibilities, as they say, are endless.
