Hugh Martin

JAS President, Senator Norman Grant, was re-elected unopposed at the 111th annual general meeting of the Society held on Wednesday, July 12. It is the first time since the ousting of the long-serving Courtney Fletcher back in 1990 that a JAS president has been elected without fanfare. This could mean one of two things; firstly, that the position has lost its glamour and no longer appeals to anyone with a lust for prominence and power. The second reason, though, could be that the youngest ever president has done such a good job, or at least appeared to have, that no one could muster the nerve to oppose him.

I am inclined towards the latter view because the position of head of the largest farmers' organisation in the English-speaking Caribbean still carries considerable prestige in the society. For one thing, the holder can expect to be appointed to the upper house of Parliament and Senator Norman Grant follows a long line of JAS presidents from the first native-born Rudolph Burke to have served in that capacity. Prior to Burke, the post had even greater prestige as it was held by the Colonial Governor.

It's all of two months ago but I can still hear the pride in Senator Grant's voice as he rose to report to the delegates on his stewardship over the past three years. He did this by first reminding them of the commitments he had made which included the following: developing and expanding international alliances, improving the image of the JAS as a vibrant and relevant organisation, improving communication, widening the membership base; establishing relevant training programmes for members; and sorting out the financial problems of the society.

More immediate commitments were the launching of an 'Eat Jamaican' campaign to support local production, developing the Denbigh Agricultural Show as a regional and international show, implementing a central marketing system, launching a major drive to recruit young people for the agricultural sector, strengthening systems for the prevention of praedial larceny and lobbying Government for the distribution of land to young people and the protection of agricultural lands from being used for other purposes.

An ambitious task

Quite an ambitious task he had set himself, wasn't it? And how much of it did he accomplish? If you are a sceptic you may ask how much he claimed he accomplished. Perhaps, a direct quote will suffice.

"Today, this annual general meeting - our 111th - the Jamaica Agricultural Society has been re-positioned. It is ready to continue the process of advancing agriculture, rural development and a better quality of life for our rural people. Ladies and gentlemen, it is a redeveloped organisation that is now ready to move to another level to provide effective services that will directly benefit our farmers. You and I will agree that the JAS that we were talking about three years ago, today, it is a different JAS."

I don't believe that anyone could have a problem with that assessment. Senator Grant is no fool. He wasn't claiming that he had met all his commitments but rather that he had set the stage for these things to be accomplished in due time. The records will show that the alliances were indeed forged with local organisations like the Jamaica Manufacturers Association and the Jamaica Exporters Association and with regional farmers associations.

Improvements

He has also certainly succeeded in improving the image of the society and as far as improving communication is concerned, he seemed to have captured the mass media. The 'Eat Jamaican' campaign was a signal success. It may have taken the full three years of effort but the praedial larceny programme is finally ready to operate and there is a lot more emphasis being placed on bringing young people into farming.

But although the unopposed president for another three years did not admit to any failures, he certainly cannot be happy that the central marketing system that was at the centre of his Agricultural Development Programme is yet to be a reality or that the Denbigh Show has shown no marked improvement over those of years gone by. But what must be his biggest disappointment is that while he has managed to bring the books on its finances up to date the only benefit derived from that success is a clearer idea of how strapped for cash the JAS really is. Senator Grant boasts that the JAS is no longer a sleeping giant but cannot deny that he has a challenge feeding it.

Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster. Email at humar@cwjamaica.com.