Jamaica
News - Real Estate - Tourism (July
20,
2004)
Assamba cites more gains for farmers from tourism industry
MINISTER of Industry and Tourism
Aloun Assamba said last week that the country's future
agricultural development will rely heavily on the cooperation
between farmers and players in the tourism industry.
The minister noted that local
hotels already purchase more than $2 billion worth of produce from
local farmers, but said there was room for improvement in terms of
agro-processing and the marketing of locally produced food
directly to the tourists.
"We need to deepen and
strengthen these links that agriculture has with tourism and
industry, so that we can all reap greater benefits," she
added, suggesting that, if the farms become more profitable, rural
communities would benefit economically and the the massive drift
to urban areas would be slowed.
Assamba was speaking at last
Wednesday's 109th annual general meeting of the Jamaica
Agricultural Society (JAS) at the Jamaica Conference Centre,
downtown Kingston.
At the same time, the minister said
that she was pleased with the initiatives already taken by the JAS
and the Jamaica Manufacturers Association (JMA) to work closely
with each other.
The farming and manufacturing
sectors were already contributing approximately 22 per cent to
Jamaica's gross domestic product and this could be increased,
tremendously, "if we can create synergies between farming,
manufacturing and tourism that add value to our primary products
for both the local and overseas markets", she said.
Assamba also encouraged
horticulturalists to open up their farms to visitors, as the
ministry was pursuing efforts to diversify the tourism product,
especially in terms of developing community-based attractions,
such as garden and plantation tours, petting farms and gardens.
She told the famers that
agencies under her ministry, including the Jamaica Tourist Board,
the Tourism Product Development Company and the Jamaica Business
Development Centre, were available to advise them on these
developments.
Meanwhile, the minister of state in
the Ministry of Agriculture, Errol Ennis, told the farmers to stop
grandstanding and give voice to the JAS as their representative
organisation and not allow critics to say that they have no voice.
JAS president Senator Norman
Grant updated the meeting on the various developments within the
society which have taken place since he was elected president last
July. These include the promotion of amendments to the
Agricultural Produce Act to introduce new measures to counter
preadial larceny; the obtaining of six Massey 290 tractors through
the Development Bank of Jamaica for its tillage programme; the
farmers' training programme launched in November; lease agreements
for JAS properties expected to bring in millions in revenue; and
the creation of a legal council to provide advice on commercial
contracts, conveyance, real estate, preparation and drafting of
legal documents and administration of estates.
Grant also said that he expected
increased overseas participation in the annual Denbigh
agricultural show this year.
Three new directors - Glen
Cruickshank, William Morgan and Pat Rose - were elected to the JAS
board, despite objections by one member, Webster McPherson, that
he should have been included in the balloting.
The delegates also passed a
resolution calling on the government to ensure that the amendments
to the Agricultural Produce Act be passed expeditiously by
Parliament for swift implemenation of the the anti-praedial
larceny provisions.
Also attending the meeting was
Jamaica Labour Party senator, Anthony Johnson.
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