An Agenda of Change [Part II]

Agricultural Sovereignty

It is a fallacy that the island is incapable of producing sufficient food to feed the population. Certainly there are food groups that cannot be grown here, such as wheat, oats and many other grains. The fundamental problem in local agriculture is a structural one: the sector was historically set up as plantation-based mono-cropping for export. Subsistence farming supplemented by massive food imports is what sustains the population. In terms of subsistence farming, our dietary preferences have always been oriented toward carbohydrate-heavy foods – bananas, tubers and breadfruit, accompanied by excessive amounts of animal protein. These foods all have more than a six-month maturation period, in addition to being seasonal in most cases. This partly explains the need for the bulk of our food imports.

The second major problem with local agriculture is a combination of structural and cultural production practices. Food production is heavily chemical-dependent and cultivation involves turning over the soil. Both these practices are harmful to humans and the soil, leading to progressive degradation and eventual abandonment. Massive soil erosion over the last five centuries has resulted in the complete loss of fertile top soil, already quite thin and fragile in a tropical ecosystem.

What is to be done: Encourage the adoption of a more East Asian approach to our diet so that there is a predominant consumption of the widest possible range of vegetables, greens and legumes. These foods are fast growing, available practically year round, relatively cheap and are not carbohydrate heavy. From a nutritional standpoint, these foods do not promote obesity and the development of chronic metabolic diseases.

The second thing to be done is to switch to regenerative forms of agricultural production, which not only produce more nutrient dense foods, but actually build soil health over time.

Education For All

How often have we heard education and other officials, speak of educating our children “for the global market place.” It is little wonder then that such preposterous claims are made because we have failed to define the purpose of education from a national/developmental standpoint.

An education should do two things: First, enable the student to realize her/his potential, based on the capacities she/he demonstrates. Second, to meaningfully and independently function within her/his environment such that effort is fairly rewarded and the collective wellbeing of citizens is enhanced.

Admittedly, reform of the educational system is one of the most intractable problems the country faces. Change is a long-term effort and will require expenditures second only to healthcare.

What is to be done: The educational system should be skewed toward a skills-based and vocational orientation. This reorientation, however, must be directed by a comprehensive understanding of what skills are actually needed within the country. It isn’t all about ICT!

In conjunction with the redirection, teachers and counsellors must be capable of identifying and nurturing the potentials of their students. In some instances, this will require no more than providing encouragement and direction so that the student finds the environment best suited to her/his needs.

Everything For The Children

This is neither cliché nor slogan. If children represent the future of the country, then they must be cared for and nurtured to assume that role. It means that society has to regard/treat children as its most precious “resource” (for want of a better term) and plan/invest accordingly.

What is to be done: The process actually begins at conception. Parents-to-be must have free/affordable access to a wide range of professional services, including counselling, health care and nutrition. Community-based homes must also be available to those expectant mothers with special needs, such as prenatal care or board and lodging.

Similarly, the best professional services must be available to children from the time they are born until about age 7-8, when their sense of identity and ability to reason begins to form.

No One Left Behind

This ties back to our Guiding Principle which envisions a society whose precepts are based on universal archetypes such as Love, Caring/Nurturing, Justice, Equity/Fairness, Truth, Goodness. It stands to reason, therefore, that society is obligated to care for all its citizens, and in particular, those who are most vulnerable.

The elderly are the repository of our intangible heritage, including its history, identity, culture, norms/ethics and folk wisdom. As such, they must be adequately cared for, integrated into social life and honoured as our link to the past.

Similarly, those of inadequate means; the indigent; the differently abled, are all the responsibility of the Society and must be cared for as such. No one can be left behind in the process of social change toward a more humanistic and enduring society.

What is to be done: In the same manner that human and material resources are made available for the care of children, the same must be done for adults incapable of caring for themselves. There is also tremendous unfilled demand for the training/retraining of the unemployed, particularly the young, who form a very significant proportion of the society.

Pulling It All Together

This article makes no reference to the economy as a distinct sector for attention. There is a reason for this. Eight of the nine guiding principles posited as an agenda for change, involve an almost innumerable range/set of activities. Taken together they constitute a galaxy of interdependent activities that coalesce to form an economy. This is the only true form of an endogenous and self-sustaining economy, based on clearly defined national needs. There is no dependency here, no need for foreign investors looking for “opportunities.” No need for “leading sectors of the economy”. What we are building is a society based on and directed by its needs, as identified by its citizens.