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I couldn’t disagree with her more

In reply to FanAttick

She is right, you should read the article again. She is not saying you shouldn't eat what you grow, she is saying you should grow more than you eat,grow enough so you have some to export ,and there are some items that are best imported as they can't be produced efficiently in large enough quantities.

In reply to cricketmad

Both cannot simultaneously be true

1. Economies of Scale is a barrier to optimal production in small island nations like Yard
2. Grow more than you can eat to export…


If economies of scale is an insurmountable barrier how can your policy be export oriented…
How about reducing the balance of payments through import substitution which was what Joshua was promoting back in the 70s?

If you rely on others to produce for you. - you are inviting a major national security issue…

Thats what happened when certain peeps hoarded flour and rice and married those items to sanitary napkins and the like…those of us who lived through that period (no pun intended) understand the critical need to control your own destiny.,..

Furthermore given the chronic diet related illnesses prevailing in the yard - Mama Lisa should be discouraging the large scale importation and consumption of rice and flour….

Joshua was branded as The Great Communicator for a reason..the eat what you grow slogan was used to break down a complex economic issue into simple terms that the masses could understand….

With the current concept of food security, "eat what you grow" is as relevant today as it was 50 years ago. Food production should not be viewed from an economic efference standpoint because most of global production is subsidized.

In reply to FanAttick

In reply to JOJO

In reply to FanAttick

Is it relevant that her husband is the owner of the Burger King franchise for Jamaica?

I sent her a message and explained how narrow that thinking is.
JA has the means to grow and manufacture animal feed but does not
They still import fertile eggs for hatching chicks for both Broilers and Layers
Still import LAMB and Goat from US, NZ and Oz hence the high cost of local goat meat.
Before and during Manley's time Grace had contract Hog Farmers and from the animals they
bought from them they manufactured bacon, ham etc.
How many agri and agri-manufacturing jobs so far? add to that the things she mentioned as
competitive advantage and for export.

Start producing local fertilizer and seeds so farmers can produce produce (roots, tubers, veg and legumes)
at costs competitive with the imports...

CYAN BELIEVE PEOPLE YOUNGER N 60 THINK SUH BACKWUD!!!!!

In reply to JOJO
Red Stripe now produces beer from Cassava, do you know it can make a better 'fry' than potatoes?
Govt. should team with private investors to develop manufacturing, packaging and storage (IQF) for that.

Add Sweet Potato Fries and many other products. I feel proud that I was part of an '80's initiative that
actually encouraged and contracted farmers to grow some products for the Airline/Hospitality industry which
ensured less (if even a lil bit) imports of produce. Simply things like spring mix (lettuces) were being imported
(maybe still imported) because farmers neither knew the products nor that there was a market.

Nuff room for growing the majority of what we eat and feed our visitors. Why does a country Columbus found growing corn
has to import Corn-based animal feed??

In reply to camos
more relevant

In reply to Headley

In reply to Headley

Which Countries In The World Are Food Insecure?

When food is imported out of a necessity for sustenance, countries become dependent on outside sources as a way of feeding their populations.

This is when food insecurity occurs. Currently, there are at least 34 countries who are unable to produce their own food due to water and land limitations, which represents a large portion of the global population who must rely on imported food in order to avoid starvation.

These countries are listed below.

1 Afghanistan
2 Burkina Faso
3 Burundi
4 Cameroon
5 Central African Republic
6 Chad
7 Democratic Republic of the Congo
8 Djibouti
9 Eritrea
10 Ethiopia
11 Guinea
12 Iraq
13 Kenya
14 Lesotho
15 Liberia
16 Madagascar
17 Malawi
18 Mali
19 Mauritania
20 Mozambique
21 Myanmar
22 Nepal
23 Niger
24 North Korea
25 Republic of the Congo
26 Sierra Leone
27 Somalia
28 South Sudan
29 Sudan
30 Swaziland
31 Syria
32 Uganda
33 Yemen
34 Zimbabwe

In reply to FanAttick

So are you saying we shouldn't eat what we can't grow ? Crops that thrive in one climatic condition will wither in another. Why should we restrict our diet to only what we can grow ?

In reply to FanAttick

What she said while not tue is a bit confusing. You gotta grow what you eat..that mantra does not and should not change.
However when she spoke of not having the means to produce,she should highlight the fact that the best AI soils for mass production
are being concreted over as her party as well as this backward administration using arable Innswood and Bernard lodge for Cities.

These lands and other former sugar cane lands are ideal for large scale agriculture both for export and home consumption both
fresh and processed to reduce waste.\
Small farmers cannot drive export on a large scale as the economy of scales works against these little men.
They can't even satisfy local markets.
Lisa bowled a noball and wide because she did not expound on the subject in a nuanced manner.

BTW on another matter of Huge SALARIES for PoLIticians et al, the Opposition completely dropped the ball. If they
needed an issue to gain supoprt from poor and middle class sufferers this was it but the spokesman said he had no problem with it.
Are you kidding me.???
This is a hot button issue with the recent angst from teachers,police and nurses over salaries and which is still a hot button issue
and they dropped the ball with an after the error statement too...what jokers are these. ???
They are now lumped by the people as in the same basket as the HAND DREW party...
They have not a snowball in hell chance of returning to Office in the future, near of distant..

In reply to hubert


If there was ever a time for people to demonstrate and engage in street protest is now!

No bangarang from the opposition? A wonder why?

In reply to hubert

I agree..seems the opposition has lost the moral high ground here….seems they are disconnected from the masses of the people…

In reply to Brerzerk

Barbados buys Jamaican feed.

In reply to nick2020
Good to know, I knew a medium size beef farmer who made his own feed (80's) Orange waste after juiced in Bog Walk Banana peel (from the chips factory) but he still had to add imported soy products. His light n power was from his Cow Crap.

Maas Hubie your posts are always so insightful and illuminating!

In reply to Brerzerk

Citrus pulp and waste from the flour mill have always been used as feed ingredients but there is not enough of those and they can't compete with soyabeans that has around 35% protein.

In reply to camos

and not just protein but protein with all the essential amino acids that are required for muscle-building, whereas corn and other grain-based feeds have to be carefully, proportionally combined.

In reply to FanAttick
We can't grow what these politicians eat is what she's saying.


On a serious note though, Manley was way ahead of his time. He had so many great ideas and programs that if they were implemented and sustained properly
the nation could've been way ahead of the game. Every time I visit Ja. and see all those acres and acres of non productive land, I remember ideas like "project land lease," for example. But instead he scared and drove the capital out of the country.

So unfortunately, apart from the passing grade he gets for kindling the social awareness and consciousness of the people, he was a general failure.