Retain Lands along Highway for Agriculture – Senator Grant

President of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), Senator Norman Grant yesterday (February 25) moved a resolution in the Upper House seeking to gain the consent of the government to retain lands along the Highway 2000 corridor that are ideally suited for agricultural development.

Senator Grant also said that there were ample supplies of land, unsuitable for agricultural purposes, which could be used for residential housing.

He noted that the mushrooming developments on the St. Catherine plains and other areas in Jamaica were major examples of the misuse of Jamaica’s prime arable lands, some of which have been lost to urbanization.

Senator Grant’s call came against the background that during the past ten years the country had witnessed what he termed an “unprecedented rapid utilization of prime arable land with excellent irrigational and topographical infrastructure for the establishment of housing schemes”.

While noting that the intention of the resolution was not to create tension between the agricultural and housing sectors, Senator Grant told his colleagues that lands so utilized were lost forever for the production of food, thereby undermining and jeopardizing the nation’s food security.

The JAS President said the contribution of agriculture to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was highly underrated as the sector contributed to every other area of the economy.

He further called for a reassessment of the sector’s contribution to GDP growth, which he said, would reveal a 30 per cent contribution instead of the eight per cent being posited.

The resolution also called for the adoption of a policy to curtail the expansion of all such residential development throughout the country, and to ensure that those entrusted with the authority to prevent land zoned for agricultural usage did not allow these lands to be rezoned and used for residential purposes.

Where major developments are occurring around areas used for farming the JAS President stressed that taxes should be collected based on the use of the land and not on the commercial activities surrounding it.

Senator Grant explained that the value of the farmers’ land for the purpose of taxation whether or not it was surrounded by commercial developments should be based on its original and present use and tax should be calculated accordingly.

“Agricultural land should only be taxed on its use and not what is happening around it,” he said.

Furthermore the resolution suggested that the JAS as the umbrella organization for the agricultural sector be represented on the committee responsible for the zoning of agricultural land, in the interest of transparency.

The motion also called for the levying of appropriate taxes on the sale of lands to reflect the revised status in the situation where prime agricultural lands are to be used for housing developments, and the difference be invested in the proposed Agricultural Development Fund, for further development of rural communities and the agricultural sector as a whole.

Also, Senator Grant said some 40 per cent of arable lands were not being utilized.

This he said meant that tremendous opportunities are being missed, which could be capitalized on.

He further recommended that the National Land Agency (NLA) carry out an audit of all arable lands, and the landowners given an agreed period to utilize the land whether privately or state owned.

“Where there are idle lands, this should attract an idle land tax.at least 70 per cent of the land holding must be in productive use.. if that is not the case then there should be a tax,” he said.

Meanwhile, Leader of Government Business, Senator Burchell Whiteman said the proposal was a commendable one and due process would be observed and the instrument brought before Cabinet in the near future.

Senator Whiteman however noted that the tension between agricultural development and other developments and competing forces for the use of flatlands had always existed.

“Every government has to find that balance between satisfying the housing needs of the people at economic costs and at the same time ensuring that we provide the best opportunities for agricultural development, creating the basis for agro processing, agro industry, export earnings and contribution to GDP,” he told the Senate.

He said the Government’s decision to put on hold on all new developments along the Highway 2000 corridor while a proper zoning plan was developed, was indicative of its efforts to aid the sector.

Senator Whiteman informed that the preliminary report had been completed and was to be made publicly available for further consideration as soon as a number of issues were finalized.

He said as a result of the plan, the commitment to ensuring that the agricultural corridor and other arable lands were protected for agriculture.

Senator Whiteman said it also showed the need to ensure that housing and town developments took place in environmentally appropriate areas.

He noted that already the findings had implications in some areas as it had prompted reconsideration of at least one planned housing development.

Opposition Senator Anthony Johnson agreed that the proposal was a sound one as it was imperative that farming was not forsaken.

He noted that if arable lands continued to be used for building instead of farming, the country would have destroyed its heritage.