Land Reform - Michael Elliott

In 1980 Robert Mugabe came to power in Zimbabwe (formerly Rodesia under Ian Smith). That country was one of the strongest agricultural economies in the world and its mono culture plantations were largely owned by whites and continued to be so with Mugabe’s blessing until he faced an election in 2002 and he reached for the race card in 2000. Whites were driven from the farms which were redistributed politically. Ordered farms became unproductive nuinate, the economy nosedived and Mugabe became the poster old man for holding unto power for its own selfish sake. Ten out of ten for tenacity; and zero for tolerance and governance. Hold that for future reference.

Breaking news; November 2017 The Zimbabwe army is easing 93 year old Mugabe from his seat of power

In 1958 I worked at Bodles Agricultural station for three months in preparation for taking up a Jamaica Government agricultural scholarship at McGill, Canada.

In the evening after work livestock officers of Bodles and some visiting officers could be seen sitting on desks chairs or window sills having a bull session. A frequent topic was. How many acres of land and how much capital would be required to enable a young man leaving Farm School (Jamaica School of Agriculture—now CASE) to run a viable dairy farm. The probable Officers included T. P. Lecky (Ja. Hope) Lynden McLaren (Vet.& PhD Nutrition) McCorkle Joe Hendricks, Charlie Harris (records) Josh Richards, Aston Wood, Lloyd Turner( Vet.) …and passing through and dropping in for a chat might be Donnie Campbell(Artificial Insemination), Sam Motta(grass), Franz Alexander (Vet.),Lloyd Wiggan(A.I.). So…….imagine half a dozen of these men in these informal bull sessions. Some of the calculations and conclusions were actually written down. Most of these men were PNP adherents or sympathisers. They were not politically selected but it was the natural demographic of the day for the middle class volunteerism of Norman Manley’s Jamaica Welfare to guarantee that the civil service in general would be maned and (womaned) thus. Hold this point in your mind for future reference.

In 1962 Jamaica became independent and at an early JLP cabinet meeting (chaired by Prime Minister Alexander Bustamante and with John Gyles as Minister of Agriculture) the import bill was examined and it was discovered that Jamaica was importing two million pounds (£2 million roughly US$4 million) of milk and milk products per year. They concluded that with Jamaica’s livestock development (Lecky’s Jamaica Hope, Donnie Campbell’s Artificial Insemination, Sam Motta’s Pangola grass and a strong veterinary service) we should make Jamaica Self-sufficient in milk and milk products in ten years. This mandate was communicated by Gyles to his Permanent Secretary Basil Lynch. Lynch with his Chief Technical Officer Winston Stewart drew on the professional skills of directors and experts in livestock to determine how to go about achieving the mandate of self-sufficiency in milk and milk products.

The result was a two pronged thrust

1. The assistance of existing dairy farmers to modernize and expand

2. A new cadre of 60 young men per year (18-25 yrs. old) to be trained for a year and settled on developed 25 acre dairy farms to be paid for in 20 years by a lease sale arrangement.

The selection of the trainees was not political. Each applicant had to convince a Govt. / ADC Committee that he had an interest in operating a dairy farm and was willing to enter the training program for a full year with Govt. providing pocket money in the princely sum of 15 shillings per week -- equivalent to 15 loaves of bread or $4,500 of today’s money.

These plans started to be put in operation in 1963 during which two schools were purpose – built one at Rhymesbury in Clarendon, the other at Goshen in St. Elizabeth. Each school had a dormitory, lecture hall and kitchen and a matron’s house. each school was sited on a commercial government dairy farm (operated by the Agricultural Development Corporation – ADC) on which the trainees would work for a year to gain experience in all aspects of dairying (milking, calf rearing, pasture cleaning, fertilizer application irrigation cattle spraying etc.) visiting subject matter specialist’s lectured between 10 o’clock and noon. The trainees faced exams based on the lectures and work experience.

The USA (USAID) contributed £600,000 (US$1.2 m) to the exiting farmers thrust and an equal amount to the trainee effort (Total £1.2 m). The Jamaican Govt. contributed over 3000 acres of land about 2000 hours of lecturing, over 1000 miles of barbed wire, 3 irrigation systems over100 houses 100 dairy sheds 100 milking machines 100 coolers 2300 cows and 200,000 miles of travelling. This list is incomplete and conservatively drawn up----------

This rapid development would not have been possible without the enthusiasm and professionalism of those largely PNP people hatching out the logistics in that think tank of Bodles 1958 and putting together that bold program of 1963 under a JLP administration

Over a two year period (1964 and 1965) we trained about 120 young men. With the general delays and frustration of a few we settled about 100 by 1975.

During early 1975 while I was manager for the field operations we were visited by an internationally known and respected agricultural sociologist of the FAO – John Hancock. I was showing him the farms and introduced him to some of the farmers. He said to me “This is the best piece of Land Reform I have ever seen in the world……….but tell me……where are the ordinary peasant boys of Jamaica?” I answered “These are they”.

I revisit Mugabe and ask “Why did he not venture on something like what we did in Jamaica?’

I revisit ourselves and ask “Why have we allowed THE BEST LAND REFORM IN THE WORLD to frazzle out?”

Why?

Michael H. Elliott

16th Nov, 2017