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The Jamaica Agricultural Society founded by Sir
Henry Blake, former Governor of Jamaica in 1895 to
stimulate interest of all categories of farmers in the island
in agricultural pursuits. And to establish a forum where all
farmers could meet, discuss their problems to initiate plans,
elect officers and to do all other things necessary for the
welfare of the farming community.
Sir
Henry Blake invited a number of gentlemen to attend
a meeting at the Institute of Jamaica on
May 7th, 1895. The meeting decided that all who had been invited
should be enrolled as a member of the Society with the Governor as President. Formed on the 29th of May
1895, the Inaugural General Meeting of the Society was held and it was then the first Board of Management was
elected to office. The first Board had thirty-one (31) members.
Apart from the Governor has president, it had four Vice Presidents,
elected by farmers from among farmers, 13 elected members
of the legislative council elected by the Society and 13 others
nominated by the Governor. Officers elected were to hold office
for one year but were subjected tore-election.
Mr.
George Douet of Mocho Pen in Clarendon was appointed
Secretary (Chief Executive Officer) and an office and a Board
room were established at No. 3 King Street in Kingston. With
a strong and dedicated Board of Management in place the Society started on its work, with a small team of Agricultural Instructors
drawn form the elite community and the teaching profession.
The basic objectives were the dissemination of information
and knowledge for agricultural advancement, the encouragement
for co-operation between the Government and the people - especially
the peasantry and small farmers.
The
Society started to take such action as was necessary to bring
about the establishment of a Department of Agriculture. The
Broad functions of this Department would be as follows: -
- To undertake research investigations and demonstrations
essential to agricultural development.
- To follow agricultural advancement in other countries and
to provide such information as may be necessary for the
efficiency of agricultural methods in Jamaica.
- To control pests and diseases of crops and animals.
- To supply improved plant materials, stud-animals and improved
strains of poultry, bees' etc.
- To provide agricultural training.
- To
advise government on agricultural policies and to initiate
such legislation as may be necessary for the protection
and welfare of agricultural development.
It would not be the duty of the Department of Agriculture to
concerns itself with actual extension work in the field as this
would be the function of the Jamaica Agricultural Society.
The Board of Management of the Society worked hard from 1895
on the setting up the Department of Agriculture and this was
established by the first decade of the twentieth century with
Mr. H. H. Cousins being appointed as its first Director of Agriculture,
he serve as Director for twenty four years.
The
1938 uprising in Jamaica and the start of World War 11 in
September 1939 caused certain changes in the agricultural
sector in Jamaica. It was as a result of these major events
that the first Agricultural Policy was set up known as the
'Wakefield Text Book of Agriculture' prepared by Mr.
A. J. Wakefield. Jamaica was faced with certain security
risks with regard to trade and the movement of ships in the
Caribbean and so the Government conducted a Food Production
Drive which was a joint venture between the Government and
the Jamaica Agricultural Society, this resulted
in seventeen extra Agricultural Instructors being appointed
by the Society in 1943.
The Food Production Programme provided by Law that each Estate
had to cultivate at least ten percent (10%) of the acreage
of the estate in Food Crops, such as Corn, Peas, Sweet Potato,
Cassava etc. the programme proved to be a great success and
the people of Jamaica at no time were faced with the problem
of being short of food.
It
was during the early 1940s the Primary Agricultural Producers
started to be organised into independent Agricultural Producer
organisations (Coconut, Banana, Sugar, Coffee, Cocoa, Citrus
and the Livestock Industry) with the help of the Jamaica
Agricultural Society.
For
over fifty (50) years the JAS was the responsible
agent for agricultural development in the Island until 1951
when a new chapter was written in the agricultural history.
Government took control of the extension staff placing them
in the newly created Ministry of Agriculture and assume the responsibility of research and technical service
leaving the left the Society with a residual
staff to carry out organising and marketing functions among
the farmers.
While
this was not the most desirable arrangement, it provided contacts
from time to time for the Technical Staff of the Ministry and the organising staff of the Society.
Training programmes were drawn up and executed by the united
staff and resulted in a high degree of goodwill and understanding
on all sides. This arrangement continued until 1962 when the
Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) came in to power in 1962. |
