Ministry of Information, Culture, Youth & Sports

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Prime Minister, Hon. Bruce Golding

Prime Minister Bruce Golding has appealed to Jamaicans to join forces with Government and supporting agencies this Labour Day (May 23), in a combined effort towards mitigating the emerging food crisis, by establishing back yard gardens and planting fruit and food trees across the country.

In his message at the St. James Labour Day Thanksgiving Church Service, held at the Somerton Baptist Church yesterday (May 18), Mr. Golding said that the current crisis on the global scene has had a negative rippling effect on small countries such as Jamaica, with food security being seriously compromised.

"This brings to the fore, the critical need for a co-operative effort from each and every one of us, to assist in stemming this crisis. This year's National Labour Day theme, 'Eat what we grow.Grow what we eat' is a deliberate focus, aimed at mitigating the food crisis that faces us," the Prime Minister said.

In the message, read by Member of Parliament for the area and Minister of Tourism, Edmund Bartlett, Mr. Golding emphasised that the Government was committed to answering that 'call' and was asking all Jamaicans to do the same.

"We must support our local farmers and strive for greater self-sufficiency, in order to survive in what is becoming an increasingly challenging global marketplace. This Labour Day, I am urging my fellow Jamaicans, young and old, to partner with us in this venture. There has been a wide-scale distribution of seedlings throughout the island, including our schools, and we are encouraging everyone to plant something from which you can reap. We intend to foster a culture of 'backyard farming' and we must start with our youths. It is my hope that this will become a way of life for the future . Let us join hands and hearts and 'labour' this Labour Day, as we seek to build a better and more secure future for our country," Prime Minister Golding urged.

In his sermon, Pastor of the church, Rev. Rudolph Brooks, said that despite the fact that mankind violated God's set guidelines, thus reaping the sorrows of the day, there was still hope.

He stressed that mankind must now take responsibility to provide for his own needs and this called for hard work and sacrifice.

"There are too many of us in society who are waiting for handouts rather than toiling to produce. There are too many beggars roaming the streets because they are not prepared to work. We have become dependent on foreign goods to such an extent that we are unwilling to till the soil and provide for ourselves," Rev. Brooks said.

He argued that if as a country, we were going to face the global crisis successfully, then persons must become self sufficient and so work themselves out of the dilemma facing the country.

"One way to do this is to organize for the use of unused lands and inspire our people to see the need to till the soil. When we begin to till the soil, like Egypt in Pharaoh's days, we will begin to have plenty, not only for today but for years to come. We need to go back to the soil. We need a new mindset that will enable us to see that there is dignity in labour. Hard work will bring success. Let us therefore heed the call to eat what we grow and grow what we eat," Rev. Brooks said.

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