One of the many attractions of Barbados as a recreational destination and as a good place to live and conduct international business is the visual aspect of the landscape, its cultivation and a sense of order and cleanliness. Unfortunately, in recent years, there seems to have been a decline in cultivation and an explosion of weeds and shrubs overtaking the landscape. There are two factors at play here. One is the decline of the sugar industry and farming cultivation in general, and the other seems to be a decline of individual pride in keeping one’s surroundings tidy, clean and attractive.
No doubt our economic decline is playing a part in all this, but the belief that “government should do it all” also plays a large part. What makes this all the more evident are oases of colour in villages throughout the countryside where individuals take the effort to create neatly trimmed garden spots that surround the most humble of homes juxtaposed with modern unpainted houses with yards sprouting weeds and littered with the detritus of a throw away consumer society.
We need to reverse this trend and to make Barbados the garden spot of the Caribbean by reversing the fortunes of agriculture and incentivizing the public to play their part in the creation of an exceptional tropical paradise that all of us can enjoy and be proud of.
Government has a role to play in terms of leadership and security as well as providing appropriate incentives to stimulate food production and to create a legislative and regulatory framework for efficient distribution. Corporate Barbados also has a role to play by setting examples of good housekeeping and property management as well as community involvement to stimulate community beautification efforts. Finally each and every one of us should take an interest in our own environment to combat illegal dumping and to improve the cleanliness of our homes and communities.
The Minister of Agriculture has spoken several times recently about the urgent need for us to produce more of our own food. There is nothing new in this as successive ministers of agriculture have sent the same message for decades. His recommendations are more of the same shotgun solutions with a wide range of government initiatives that look remarkably similar to those of the past. Why these initiatives will work this time is a bit of a mystery.
Individuals get into economic activities because they can make a profit to sustain and educate their families and because they enjoy what they are doing. The fundamental responsibility of government is to provide for the security of the nation and ensure the rule of law. Unless government discharges that responsibility fully, the environment for farming will always be more hostile than necessary. Regardless of the technology used, the work ethic applied and allowances for the vagaries of the weather, if the crop is stolen or destroyed the incentive for farming evaporates.
Government should focus on its prime responsibility to fight crop theft that is increasingly bold and violent. A recent incident was so brazen that a thief harvested sweet potatoes alongside workers of a plantation and when accosted, pulled a knife saying that he intended to take what he wanted. He was eventually subdued and tied up for the police to collect. No farm worker should be subjected to that kind of threat. It is time for a rifle shot approach to improving the security of farmers and a multi agency task force established to focus on improving the security of our farms. Everything else is secondary.
Putting our farmers back to work is necessary for local food production and the beautification of our country. This benefits our economy on so many different levels that it is worthy of being a national priority. There are roles for government and the business community to efficiently improve local food production and distribution and to confuse those roles is often counterproductive.
Let us all join in making Barbados the garden spot and bread basket that it could be.
No comments:
Post a Comment