Agriculture’s future lies beyond the farm

Jamaica must rethink how it prepares young people for agriculture, moving beyond simply encouraging them to grow food and instead equipping them to process, package, brand, and export Jamaican products, says Caribbean Maritime University (CMU) assistant lecturer John-Paul Bramwell.

His call has found support from Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) Clarendon branch president, agri-entrepreneur, and trained arborist Andre Anderson, who says that young people are embracing agriculture but lack the means to move beyond primary production.

Bramwell told The Gleaner that the country’s agricultural future must extend beyond the farm to factories, laboratories, packaging facilities, and export markets.

“The future of agriculture is not only in the field. It is also in the factory, laboratory, kitchen, packaging facility, and export market,” he said.

He argued that Jamaica’s conversation about youth in agriculture must move beyond encouraging young people to “plant what you eat and eat what you grow”.

“The next generation must also be challenged to process what we grow, package what we produce, protect what we create, and export it to the world,” he said.

A stronger agro-processing sector, he argued, could transform the economics of farming by creating a reliable market for surplus produce.

“Farmers would have greater incentive to increase production if reliable processors were purchasing excess fruits, vegetables, herbs, and livestock products,” Bramwell said.

He said young entrepreneurs could turn local produce into pepper sauces, jerk seasonings, fruit juices, jams, dried fruits, teas, canned goods, animal feed, natural cosmetics, essential oils, confectionery, and other value-added products.

“Instead of watching surplus produce spoil, we could convert it into shelf-stable products capable of earning foreign exchange,” he said.

The scale of local production underscores that potential. Domestic crop output reached a record 221,128.6 tonnes in the first quarter of 2025, according to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining.

Bramwell also pointed to strong international demand for Jamaican food and flavours, citing observations from visits to several US states and parts of the United Kingdom this year.

He said Caribbean food stalls at London’s Notting Hill Carnival attracted people of different races and nationalities, many of whom praised the quality, seasoning, and distinctive flavours of Jamaican and Caribbean cuisine.

“Our food, music, and culture already have global recognition. The question is: Are Jamaicans capturing enough of the economic value created by that popularity?” he asked.

Bramwell noted that overseas companies were already producing Jamaican-inspired sauces, seasonings, and other products.

“If others recognise the commercial power of Jamaica’s name and flavours, why shouldn’t Jamaican youth lead the global market in authentic Jamaican products?” he asked.

He wants entrepreneurship programmes at universities, high schools, and skills-training institutions to include food manufacturing, food safety, quality assurance, packaging, labelling, regulations, export requirements, costing, branding, patents, trademarks, and copyright.

Anderson agreed that education must be central to changing attitudes towards agriculture and helping young people seize opportunities in the sector.

“The education of the entire country is important to achieving this feat,” he said.

Barriers remain

While interest among young people is strong, he said significant barriers remained.

“Young people are generally genuinely interested in agriculture and are embracing agriculture. They lack the means to move their interest from being a primary producer to processing of final products,” he said.

Greater private-sector involvement is needed, he argued, including investment in processing facilities and modern transport and logistics systems.

“People who invest in real estate generally invest in housing projects. These investors/developers generally don’t think that building and leasing turn-key processing facilities is also an arm of real estate,” Anderson said.

He also called for faster development of irrigation systems to help farmers cope with climate-related challenges and urged investors to put money into agricultural logistics to reduce food losses.

“The sector is in need of a comprehensive look that involves not just government but also private players if we are to make the best use of the opportunity that the interest young people provides for us,” he said.

Bramwell said financing and market access were critical, noting that “a brilliant product without affordable start-up capital can remain an idea, while a finished product without distribution can remain on a shelf”.

He wants stronger links among young processors and supermarkets, hotels, restaurants, exporters, and international distributors.

“Stop preparing our youth only to seek employment. Prepare them to manufacture, own intellectual property, build brands, employ others, and export Jamaican excellence,” Bramwell said.

olivia.brown@gleanerjm.com