Cotton prospects

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

ONE WOULD think that with a premium product such as Sea Island Cotton on offer, the Jamaica Agricultural Development Foundation (JADF) would have potential investors lining up.

But CEO Vitus Evans is struggling to attract the interest of private-sector interests.

"I haven't been able to generate the level of interest as I would wish (for) from the private sector to assist in growing the cotton.

"We have had a few farmers come on-board but they have not been able to apply themselves in terms of the way that would require them to grow the cotton," Evans told The Gleaner.

He said that some cane farmers had switched to Sea Island Cotton but they seemed unwilling to put in the necessary hours for work.

Something new

According to Evans, the JADF would like to get into something new because it believes that it has taken cotton as far as it can.

"We are quite prepared to lease the ginnery and the equipment that we have, because what we actually do here is the first stage of processing, which is to gin the cotton - take out the seeds - and we export the lint.

"A pound of cotton will give you two and a half shirts - adult dress shirts. Now, if you get one of those shirts for less than US$600, then you have a bargain.

"Yes, there is the cost of weaving, dying and then using the fabric in manufacturing, so there is the value added," Evans said.

He argued that efforts to sell the investment opportunity afforded by Sea Island Cotton had been hampered in large measure by lending agencies such as the Development Bank of Jamaica (DBJ) and the People's Co-operative (PC) Bank, whose lending policies are steeped in red tape.

"The Government (current and former administration) has also been guilty of spurning the opportunities afforded," Evans said.

He argued that the agriculture ministry had not supported the project, saying it was too labour intensive and would not be able to attract the necessary labour pool.

"Sometimes I have been accused of trying to reintroduce slavery because of the stereotype thing, that is, the connotation attached to cotton picking.

He charged that the agriculture ministry has argued that the cotton industry is not viable.

"I show them where we do it and the people have got money out of it."

Frustrated but not disheartened, the JADF CEO is optimistic that with a delegation from China due to visit Jamaica in October on a fact-finding mission about the potential for Sea Island Cotton, he could very well be talking business.