Montague Urges Eat More of Local Foods

KINGSTON — Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Hon Robert Montague, wants increased consumption of local produce to significantly reduce food importation.

Speaking at the eighth anniversary of the Jamaica Agricultural Society’s (JAS) "Eat Jamaican" Day celebrations, at the Denbigh Show Grounds, May Pen, Clarendon, on Friday (November 25), Mr. Montague lamented that Jamaica’s food import bill averages US$806 million per annum, representing approximately 60 per cent of local consumption.  

Citing examples, the Minister said the nation consumes some 140 million litres of dairy milk annually, of which only 12 million litres, or nine percent of consumption, is produced locally. Additionally, he said that 72 per cent of the beef consumed last year was imported, and that the equivalent of three million heads of goat are consumed per annum, although only 500,000 goats are reared each year.

"This is not a healthy position for us to be in as an independent nation because, God forbid, if there is a disaster and the food that we are now purchasing (overseas) cannot come into Jamaica, our population would be in serious trouble,” he contended.

The minister warned that Jamaica was in “serious trouble, as a nation”, when it comes to food security.

"As a nation about to celebrate 50 years of independence, we have to attack and deal with this problem of food security. We need, therefore, not to talk about feeding ourselves, but to take positive actions towards feeding ourselves,” he urged.

Mr. Montague commended the JAS’  “Eat Jamaican” initiative, describing it as a positive step in promoting the need to eat what we grow, and grow what we eat.

“We need to release that grip on the imported foods, and escape that trap of importing so much of the foods that we consume,” Mr. Montague concluded.

By Douglas McIntosh, JIS Reporter