EDITORIAL: Young farmers need more incentives
More incentives need to be laid on the table to peak youths’ interest in agriculture.
There are a number of young farmers on our island who could benefit from a range of incentives, both monetary and otherwise. This topic about peaking interest amongst our youth towards agriculture, has been in the public domain for some time. Nevertheless, if we consider the matter of food security, we would realise the need to keep it high on our agenda, as we truly need to ensure that we have access to the food we need now and also in the future. Given our high food import bill, around $700 million; our ageing population, which sees many of the older folks who had a bent towards agriculture going into retirement; and issues related to climate change, resulting in a change in weather patterns, we really need to see how we can develop the capacity of young farmers to produce more home-grown foods and also work to generate greater interest amongst our youth, so they can develop a host of agri-businesses as well.
We can really bring some innovation to what some say is a dying industry, if we think outside the box and change our mindset about what a farmer should look like and the produce he or she should be producing. It is time we even put steps in place to utilise more greenhouse technology, and look at our food import bill to see which foods that we now import, can thrive under greenhouse conditions. We can then work with more of our young people, even if we rent them the greenhouses and provide them with the technical know-how, to produce valuable food crops of a certain quality for the local market first and even for export. The Ministry of Agriculture could certainly help in this regard.
For those interested in agri-business, as everyone will not be interested in labouring over plants as they grow, with the simple hope of getting a profit, incentives could be provided to aid those who wish to use local plants for instance, to produce botanicals, which may then be taken up by the cosmetology market. Others may be able to take the milk from the Black Belly Sheep and produce soaps and other products for gift baskets. Some youngsters may have a keen eye for design and may be able to fashion some bags or footwear from the animal hides that may otherwise be discarded. Those into cooking may be able to come up with new recipes for local dishes, by combining indigenous products to produce a tasty meal. The idea is, we must think outside of the box in order to raise the bar and keep the excitement going where agricultural pursuits are concerned. We also need persons and funding agencies willing to back those who dare to be different and who dare to try their hands at something new.
Youth will only enter and stay in the field if that field is viewed with respect and brings a level of returns that they can be proud of. So perhaps Government or even the private sector can work alongside the youth, providing the necessary incentives to ensure that we reduce our high import bill, have greater food security and turn more youthful minds towards agriculture.