‘Use NHT, TEF money to fund agriculture’

Warning that “if you’re not farming food, you’re forming fool”, university lecturer and researcher Dr K’adamawe K’nife is urging a multi-source funding model to build resilience in Jamaica’s agricultural sector.

Delivering the keynote address at the opening of the 10th International Conference of the Food Hygiene Bureau at Sandals Dunn’s River in St Ann on Wednesday, K’nife suggested that about $4 billion annually could help move the sector to a stronger footing.

He argued that funding is available from local and regional institutions, including the Tourism Enhancement Fund (TEF), which manages $9.6 billion and serves as a link between tourism and agriculture, and the National Housing Trust (NHT), from which the government has previously drawn funds for non-housing purposes.

K’nife also pointed to the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB), which supports climate-change initiatives and, he suggested, could help finance agricultural development.

“So, if the state, through the TEF, allocates some funding and use it as a way to attract additional funding, it can make a significant investment in the (agricultural) sector,” K’nife said.

“I recommend that we get the money from the National Housing Trust, we get the money from the Tourism Enhancement Fund, get the Caribbean Development Bank to support it, get the European Union (EU) to support this, so we have about $4 billion annually to invest in agriculture. I’m saying make sure the Agro-Investment Corporation (AIC) has the processing facility and the storage facility.”

The two-day conference, held under the theme, ‘Building Resilience in Food Systems’, focused on food security and sovereignty in Jamaica and the wider Caribbean. It attracted a packed roster of speakers from Jamaica, Guyana, India, the United Kingdom, the United States and The Bahamas.

‘NO FOOD SHORTAGE’

While outlining ways to strengthen the sector, K’nife rejected suggestions that Jamaica faces a food shortage. The issue gained attention following renewed discussion of a United Nations report stating that more than 55 per cent of Jamaicans experienced food insecurity between 2021 and 2023.

“So, while Jamaica might have a challenge in terms of accessing food, especially those who are more vulnerable, we really don’t have a food shortage. The production (figure) actually shows that more than 40 per cent of what we produce tends to be wasted; 14 per cent of that is because of cold storage.

“So, if we fix the post-harvest situation and also support minimal processing, most of our challenges would be gone,” K’nife pointed out.

He noted that agriculture is typically the fastest sector to recover after a natural disaster. Within months of Hurricane Melissa, which caused more than $30 billion in agricultural losses and drove up food prices, the country was experiencing a glut of produce and falling prices.

“So I think if we really could address those two key elements, the post-harvesting and the minimal processing, we don’t have any problem,” he surmised.

Agriculture Minister Floyd Green, who officially opened the conference, said that despite the impact of Hurricane Melissa in the final quarter of 2025, which caused an estimated $36 billion in damage, Jamaica recorded its second-highest level of domestic crop production on record.

Output reached 811,224 tonnes, surpassed only by the 846,000 tonnes produced in 2022.

Addressing concerns raised by the UN report, Green said its findings should be viewed in context and did not mean people were going hungry.

Highlighting measures to strengthen the sector, he said 95 greenhouses are to be built across several parishes, scholarships are being offered to the top male and female students attending the College of Agriculture, Science and Education, and 24 ponds are scheduled for construction this year as part of drought-mitigation efforts.

carl.gilchrist@gleanerjm.com