dominica2day: The myth of agricultural prominence

The myth of agricultural prominence
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Reginal Oliver Severin on 11 May, 2007 05:01:00
 
There is an underlining school of thought that fails to put into perspective the
current malaise affecting agricultural productivity and output today. It is easy
to look towards the public sector represented by the Ministry of Agriculture and
of-course the Minister of Agriculture ‘to exercise strategic leadership’
within the sector without  going in-depth  into the perception problem that
exists.
Agriculture is not sick as many seek to claim.  As Dominicans we are too easily
swayed towards the negative path as it relates to evaluating the critical
sectors of our economy. The problem of agricultural development does not lie
only in the actual things done; most times our perception and beliefs bring on
the greatest burdens clouding our minds for more rational evaluation of the
state of affairs.
The primary and high school students of Agriculture during the eighties
experienced agricultural output at its peak; the issue of productivity was never
given much attention. Financial institutions did not give a second thought to
financial prudence nor did the agricultural markets demand the quality and
safety standards that are prevalent today. Throughout the glory periods the cry
echoed by our deceased Prime Ministers, Ms. Charles and Comrade Rosie went
unnoticed and they were often ridiculed in their efforts and cry to ‘diversify
Mr. Farmer’ and ‘stop depending on preferential treatments’ respectively.
A very important belief supported by the financial backing developed in
Dominica simultaneously with the green-gold days. Our parents taught us that
farming is demeaning and defined success by an education leading to a profession
with special emphasis on becoming a Medical Doctor or a Lawyer. Becoming a
farmer was ludicrous! That perception translated into very little, or no
investment in the development of the agricultural workforce’ intellectual
capacity. Training in management for farmers was none existent and the
deliberate introduction of agriculture as a right of passage for every young
person attending school evaporated eventually leading to the elimination of
vocational agriculture in the schools’ curriculum. The agricultural remnant
went on and became professionals; they choose however a path that kept them
attached to the vocation but free enough to exit whenever the pressure of
ridicule or low returns threatened.
Today we have become so clever in our analysis of agriculture we fail to see
the obvious fact that we spent decades of teaching our young that agriculture is
a ‘cheap, unproductive, dirty’ activity and expect to wake up in 2007, slap
on a few ‘productive and credit’ policies, invest in modern technology, and
exercise ‘strategic leadership’ and we have a booming agricultural sector.
According to the wide range of Agricultural development strategies recommended,
individuals such as Dr. Bernard Yankey continues to focus on the expected
outcomes anticipated by all in a revitalized agricultural sector: selected
value-added crops, developed agro-processing sector, suitable lands, appropriate
technology and supporting infrastructure to name a few. The exact how to get
there remain in the land of the unknown.
Gradually there seem to be an increasing willingness to move away from the
myths that capital-intensive, modern, scientifically-based, large-scale,
fully-controlled, specialized, high-tech are the panacea of the agricultural
malaise. Why are we not producing as much as we did when all this modern
‘instruments’ were non-existent or inaccessible? We have lost touch with
nature and believe that the ‘modern science’ can supplant natural science,
that technological innovation can substitute human will and that our never
ending negative critic will encourage agricultural productivity overnight. As
Dominicans we need to echo Garrett Hardin’s The Tragedy of the Commons that
‘there is no technical solution’ to our low agricultural productivity; we
need to focus on the denominator for a change: the per capita, yes the people
and not just the output, the numerator. As we target our youth and provide them
with a pure, natural, ecological diverse view coupled with early exposure,
involvement and participation without any bias of the culture, we will
experience that rebirth, the resurgence long anticipated in our agricultural
sector in Dominica.
Today we have seen it work in the celebration of our cultural heritage…a
deliberate promotion of our culture among the youth…the result a vibrant
culture today. Add agri before culture and let us agree that the path out of
this predicament is as simple as a change of belief and perception. As Albert
Einstein said "Great spirits have always found violent opposition from
mediocrities. The latter cannot understand it when a man does not thoughtlessly
submit to hereditary prejudices but honestly and courageously uses his
intelligence." Can we begin here, Please?