Economist Dr. Justin Ram , former Director of Economics at the CDB; Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GSec and Justin Ram Advisory Services
There has been growth in the agricultural sector despite the COVID-19 pandemic.
So says economist Dr. Justin Ram, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of GSec and Justin Ram Advisory Services. The former Director of Economics at the Caribbean Development Bank, speaking yesterday on a local radio call-in programme, noted that up to June 2019, agricultural output was $53.6 million, and this year for the same period saw it reach $55.6 million.
“It shows you that agriculture is an industry that can be sustainable even in the midst of one of the greatest shocks that we have had. Now could you imagine if agriculture was a significantly higher percentage of the overall economy? Then we would be able to weather the storm a lot better,” he said.
Dr. Ram reflecting on that performance, said that it is important to consider how to incentivise the greater use of technology to help improve agricultural efficiency. His comments came as he said that in advancing the sector, it is critical for Barbadians to see the entire Caribbean region as the market, and not only develop the sector here, but encourage Barbadians to invest in developing farms in other countries where land may be available in greater abundance.
“That comes back to the point where we have to really look beyond our borders to say what can this regional integration movement bring for us as well, if Barbadian labour can go and work anywhere and then repatriate back to Barbados remittances. I think now is the time for us to think fully outside of the box and see how we can now drive the Barbadian economy forward, not only through domestic investment, but how we can utilise our resources across the entire Caribbean,” he stated.
Adding to that, Dr. Ram said there are a lot of young people who are interested in agriculture, stating that agriculture is becoming “quite sexy” because of the advent and use of technology in agricultural production.
“There are a lot of young folks and entrepreneurs out there, not only in Barbados, but across the region, who are really doing some exciting things and I think it is only a matter of time before we start to hear about them,” he said.
He went on to say that perhaps it is time to include more information in our school curricula on agriculture, so persons recognise it is a way to be gainfully employed or pursue entrepreneurial activity.
“We also need an education curriculum that satisfies where we want our countries to go. If we are saying that agriculture is important for food security, then our agriculture curriculum must also reflect that as well,” he added.