Labour shortage hits agriculture sector

Consumers can brace themselves for an increase in the price of ground provisions this Christmas.

This is according to Winston Simpson, CEO of the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, who said the increase is caused from labour shortage and the cost of input.

"Labour shortage is caused from the attitude of people, because the younger people don't want any work. I recently spoke with a farmer who has over 10 acres of pepper, but there is no one to help him to reap. We have a bit of an issue because of the excessive heat that we had encountered, but the biggest problem is labour, and although we don't expect any crisis, it remains an issue," Simpson said.

According to Simpson, the cost of workmen has doubled over the past two years, and this is what will be leading to the increase of ground provisions.

"We are already paying more for labour, because the average cost for one person per day on the farm is $5,000, and before it was $2,500; and that has doubled since the COVID period," Simpson said.

He said the decrease in labourers started becoming noticeable in 2020, shortly after the pandemic hit local shores. He stated that the younger labourers especially had found other means of making money.

"A lot of them did not return to the fields. We will now to look towards engaging the Ministry of Labour [and Social Security] to look at the model where we can import farmworkers from overseas to see how it can be used in Jamaica, especially on the large farms, because we have to arrest that problem," he said.