Burnham’s ‘eat what you grow’ initiative resurfaces

Dear Editor,
The Burnham initiative – eat what you grow – seems to have surfaced in the Caribbean when Agriculture Ministers from the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) met in Port-of-Spain recently to discuss ways and means to slash the US$4 billion imported food bill.
Trinidad and Tobago Agriculture Minister, Vasant Bharath, who headed the discussion for Caribbean countries to reduce the importation of wheat and use cassava flour to mix with the wheat to make bread, rolls etc.
He added that farmers in his country have started large scale production of the ground provision. In fact he said that 300,000 trees are under cultivation.
Bharath also said that sweet potatoes and other ground provisions should replace Irish potatoes in chips used by KFC, Royal Castle and other fast food outlets.
This is indeed a good move and the quicker regional governments move in this direction, it is better for their economies since nearly all the Caribbean countries are encountering serious financial difficulties.
I cannot see why the region which has fertile land has to import so much food.
There is abundance of fruits and vegetables, good provisions, fish and local meats to meet local consumption.
Why do we in the Caribbean have to import meat – some from as far as New Zealand, canned fish and meat – when the local products are much healthier and do not involve foreign exchange.
Guyana leader, Forbes Burnham in the late 1970s and early 1980s introduced the idea of buy local – eat with you grow – but he went a bit overboard when he completely banned all foodstuffs, even baby milk, without allowing the local foods to flourish and as a result there was dissatisfaction in the country.
Burnham had introduced rice flour after completely banning the importation of wheat. Bharath’s plan is to use 30 percent cassava flour and 70% wheat which in my view is a better move, and sweet potatoes, yam, dasheen, and other local ground provisions should replace Irish potatoes for chips.
The Guyanese leader’s vision – Eat What You Grow – Produce or Perish, was one of his slogans, and he was very focus on local production – not only in foodstuffs, but also in building materials and had a big clay brick campaign calling on persons to use clay bricks in their building construction, rather than imported materials.
He even tried to grow cotton at Kimbia up the Berbice River, for Guyanese to weave to make clothing, as well as the setting up of a factory, to manufacture glass, but these never got off the ground for varying reasons.
Oscar Ramjeet