Tour-Is-Him yes, but Agriculture too

Ah want it put on Record that ah have faith in the power of Agriculture and ah beg to differ from those who behaving like if Agriculture is ah contagious disease, so the quicker we get out the better foh tour-is-him.

Ah believe that if there is to be Tour-is-him then Agriculture got to be right there, side-by-side. The Tourist must enjoy our Sea-foods, our locally grown foods, fresh fruits and juices, otherwise we will be collecting the Tourist dollar in one hand and spending it on imported meat and food to feem him/her with the other hand, mek no cents digging ah hole to fill ah hole.{{more}}

God has blessed us with ah rich fertile soil, clean running streams and an ah-bun-dance ah fish. It therefore follows that ah nation like ours should have absolutely no difficulty feeding its people. We also need to produce enough foh export, as well as Add Value to some ah what we produce and get the best price. Ah serious problem we have is that we seem to have ah crone-ache addiction foh imported foods and none foh our own. You just have to stay one side and watch how some shoppers does “exclamate” (ah mek this word specially foh Englishman Avil Cupid) when they see dem full-size imported Grapes and Apples, they will willingly pay $5.00 foh three Apples, or nine dollars ah pound foh Grapes, but scoff and push up dey mouth to pay the same five dollars foh four Julie Mangoes or eighty cents ah pound foh ripe Bananas. It will tek ah next Education Revolution to get this one Right.

We also need to look at how best we can protect our local markets, so that the price foh local produce can be consistent all year round and competitive with far-reign. One week local tomatoes selling $10.00 ah pound, pigeon peas $15.00 ah pound, and four weeks later, everything crash to $1.00 ah pound foh tomatoes and $5.00 foh peas. This is bad foh all concerned, Farmers, Vendors, Consumers. Why can’t the relevant Guv-ah-mint Ministry mek available ah proper facility to store fresh produce when the harvest is big, so that prices can be kept stable foh consumers and Farmers get ah decent price foh dey crops.

TIE-ONE SETS DE PACE

Ah tired preach the Gospel according to Adding Value to what we produce. We lament over the pains endured wuking in Bananas foh over fifty years, but have done nil to Add Value to Bananas except shipping it in ah pretty cartoon; can’t we even think bout ah Banana Vinegar self? And the same can be said bout our Arrowroot Starch and Farine; the presentation has remained the same foh centuries. What ever became of Cassava Starch and when are we going to merge our Arrowroot and Cassava Industries with ECGC Maple Leaf Flour and produce ah Arrow-Wheat or Sava-Wheat Cereal. And the same can be said bout Dash-in and Yams and sweet potatoes and we mangoes and so on. But as long as we are prepared to allow our fresh yam or potato to be displayed on the bare ground along the side-walk on market days, then there is no place foh Agriculture in truth..

And having said that bit, ah want to thank the Tie-One-Knees Mission foh showing us the way and confirming exactly what ah saying. They have done ah fan-task-tek job preserving and indeed Added Value to the Five Finger (Carambola) and Jew-Jew-Bay (Jojobe) fruits. Ah inviting shoppers to ask foh these products, ah bit costly, but an excellent product, the packaging, the presentation, the taste and quality says it all. Thank you Tie-One. Now it is in our place to tek it from there. Will the Ministry of Industry, Manufacture or Technology please come forward.

SAME OLE CAR-KEY PANTS

As was expected LPG (cooking gas) price gone up 16 % and like Texaco/ Shell aint happy with the price. Lie-Za watching to see if Chavez will mek Pet-throw-ah-Carib at Shell and stone them them out. Then ah ask her if she think the PM did the decent thing when he chant his Cabinet Ministers foh settling prices with Shell without Dancing them round and round.. She remind me how we uses to say when Daddy, Sir James went away it was the Cat away no mice in the Cabinet could come out to play. Well is Papa time now and he went away, but his mice in the cabinet feel dey could come out play, not knowing is Dance dey suppose to Dance. Well was hell when Papa came back and hear they came out and din’t Dance Shell round and round. Bet this will never happen again because Daddy might be gone but Papa still dey; nah de same ole Car-key pants?

And with that, ah gone again.

One Love Bassy.