The Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries - Jamaica

very important part of the vertical integration of the agri-processing industry.” BVM: Can you talk a bit about the Fisheries portion of your portfolio? Shaw: “In terms of the fisheries sector, we realize that our near shore waters are overfished in fish, lobsters, conch, everything.We have to find mechanisms to get our entrepreneurs into the blue economy,the deep ocean economy.It’s a time for creativityand thinking outside the box.We recent- ly launched a newmarket in China,wherewe are supplying live lobsters.We found away to catch our lobsters,get them into a certainwater temperature –they’re,literally,put to sleep-and get them to China within 30 hours,where theywake up.And people are able to purchase their lobsters,live. “Why should only developed countries like the United States and Canada be in the tuna business when the tuna are swimming past Jamaica once or twice a year? Why can’t we have our own tuna industry? And in deep sea ocean fishing, you have other exotic things like sea urchins, black eels, and other things that are in demand, globally, and they are here in the Western hemisphere. So, Jamaica has to find a way to make fisherfolk competitive. We might have to subsidize some of the fuel costs. “And you are aware of the devastating impact of plastics that have been choking our seas and killing off marine life. So,we are playing our part. Come January of next year,we are banning certain types of plastics -Styrofoam and things that are not biodegradable- in the country.We’re taking a very strong stand on these things.” BVM: Going forward, what challenges confront the government of Jamaica and what opportu- nities exist to meet them? Shaw: “When we came to power, our theme was that we must move from poverty to pros- perity.And we recognized that prosperity is not something that begins automatically in your pocketbook; prosperity begins in your mind. So, we also recognized that we had to do something about human development.We are placing a lot of emphasis on education; we are placing a lot of emphasis on young people who might have left high school or dropped out of school, on giving them another opportunity for vocational training so they can do something productive.There are a lot of negative influences out there–gangs, scams–and we have to find appropriate, credible, and uplifting alternatives for our young people. “We have been focusing, recently, on establish- ing what we call zones of special operation,where the military and police are focusing on getting rid of the crime in our communities.We have estab- lished states of emergency in several parishes to do the same thing, even as we continue to pro- mote investment, aggressively. But the greatest crisis Jamaica faces today, that is holding us back as a country from growing and creating the wealth that we need to create, is not crime, but rather a crisis of human underdevelop- ment. So,we have to concentrate on developing the human capital of the country.” BVM: Any final thoughts? Shaw: “In the Book of Job it says,‘For there is hope of a tree if it be cut down that it will sprout again, and from the tender branch it shall not cease.’ In every adversity, there is a seed of greater benefit. Find a seed, sow it, nurture it, and greater benefit will emerge. In the 1960s,we were grow- ing by six percent a year; we were among the top four countries in productivity growth. In 1971, in one single year, the economy grew by 12 percent. Jamaica can sprout again.” THE MINISTRY OF INDUSTRY, COMMERCE, AGRICULTURE AND FISHERIES – JAMAICA