INDUSTRIAL entrepreneur Luther G. Miller II has a hot new plan to revitalise agriculture, including sugar and produce crops for local consumption and exports worth up to $500 million in five years.
This three-pronged plan projects the use of a new and scientifically prepared Enriched Compost Plus to recondition exhausted arable land; small powered farm equipment; and formation of a limited public company with a start-up capital outlay of $5 million.
"We are faced with a formidable challenge," Miller says: "high unemployment and a deepening recession that will not go away."
He adds: "Agriculture, the key to economic recovery and stability, through progressive growth in five short years, from concept to reality, will provide thousands of jobs to start the process of economic growth to improve the quality of life for all -- families, business and government, and reduce unemployment to single digits. Our 45 000 acres of arable land is relatively exhausted," he notes, "but can be reconditioned with Inoculated Enriched Compost Plus to produce 100 000 tonnes of sugar from 25 000 acres and produce non-sugar crops for local consumption and export from 20 000 acres with an estimated value of up to $500 million.
"When cotton is developed through to wearing apparel for export, wages and the spin-off are added, the figures could be $1 000 million."
Miller envisages that from a small beginning on the plantation, the production of Enriched Compost would be rapidly expanded in other areas by the end of the second year to increase production to 200 000 cubic metres to recondition 14 000 acres by the end of the third year. And, he expects that all arable land would be reconditioned before the end of year five.
"Exports of food crops will explode," he says. "The CARICOM market is worth over $300 million. The measure of economic growth is thousands of people going into shops to buy goods. A mechanism that will create thousands of jobs must be identified and put in place. Profits from a fully developed agriculture could match the tourist dollar."
According to Miller: "With new technology to recondition our soils to improve production through much higher yields, there will be an avalanche of food crop production for local consumption and export".
Official figures show 14 437 acres of arable
land idle and unproductive. Still, non-sugar agriculture rose by 1.6 per cent in
the first quarter of this year over the same period in 1993, according to
Central Bank reports. And, though the recent history of sugar production is
unremarkable (48 574 tonnes produced, with export earnings of about $60
million), there are hints of possible prosperity ahead with the experienced
British management company Booker Tate having signed on in an effort to restore
about 40 heavily indebted plantations (leased to Government) to profitability.
Miller wants to attract unemployed youth to
agriculture, which he believes could help them to help themselves and their
families. He points out that there are more than 5 000 small plots of land
unused across the island -- from an eighth of an acre to two acres -- and the
owners could be persuaded to enter into an arrangement of sharing profits from
crops.
"Small groups of three or four young
people, guided by older heads with the experience of growing crops, could band
together with trust in each other to try to move away from the grip of despair .
. . to produce crops to help others to search for a means to support
themselves."
Farmers and the general public are being asked to subscribe half of the $5 million capital required.
"Two finance companies have agreed to provide a term credit of half a million dollars each to purchase $1 million worth of equipment to produce the compost and a wide range of crops on a plantation to be acquired, to demonstrate higher crop yields of better quality, profitable."
He notes that the subscription of $2.5 million would qualify the company -- Greenverde & Assembly -- for a seven- year term loan of $2.5 million from the Central Bank's Industrial Credit Fund.