rural land development in jamaica

Rural Land Development in JamaicaAuthor(s): Barry FloydSource: Area, Vol. 2, No. 1 (1970), pp. 7-11Published by: The Royal Geographical Society (with the Institute of British Geographers)Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/20000395 .

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Rural Land Development in

Jarmaica Barry Floyd, University of the West Indies

Rapidly increasing numbers of rural inhabitants in developing countries are producing serious socio-economic and political tensions at home as well as having repercussions in other parts of the world. An exodus of impoverished and unskilled peasants to the towns or to foreign lands has led to the spread of domestic slums, and to the imposition of restrictions on migration and ostraciza tion overseas. The squalor of West Kingston, Jamaica, and the lot of many West Indians in Great Britain illustrate this point.

Jamaica's population problem is acute by any measure. During the 1960s, the country experienced one of the highest rates of population increase in the world, 32 per 1 000, or 5 2 times that of northwest Europe. Jamaica has had to accom

modate an additional 59 000 persons each year on its 4 400 square miles: an annual increment of 14 additional persons per square mile of land area. The country's inability to feed its population is indicated by the fact that, in 1969, Jamaica imported over half (by value) of its food requirements. In the 1970s the situation will not improve, even if modest successes in controlling fertility are achieved. It can only deteriorate if repatriation of West Indians living in the

UK is encouraged by the British government. In response to the problem, the Jamaican government is promoting the

establishment of new industries and technical training facilities, to provide alternative employment for the surplus rural population; a nation-wide family planning programme to reduce the birth-rate; and innovations in agriculture, in an effort to increase output of existing land in primary production, and to extend the area of land utilized for crops or animal husbandry.

It is in the agricultural sector in particular that a commendable if ambitious attempt is being made to grasp the nettle of land shortage, and to resolve by democratic means anomalies in rural land utilization and ownership. The

measure of success achieved by Jamaican planners in this direction may go far towards influencing other Commonwealth Caribbean countries facing similar problems, as well as other over-populated countries in less developed areas.

Over the years, the Jamaican government has become increasingly concerned that a significant proportion of the potentially productive land in the island lies uncultivated, or is utilized at levels far below its productive capacity. In 1962 it was variously estimated that between 200 000 and 500 000 acres (or 8 % to 20 % of Jamaica's usable land, depending on the criteria employed) were idle, or were being used at a low level of efficiency. At the same time there were many Jamaicans either without land, or with insufficient land for economic farming, and denied an opportunity to acquire additional acreage. Meanwhile, the

importation of agricultural commodities has been increasing yearly, con

tributing to an adverse trade balance for the country. To remedy this parlous situation, the government of Jamaica has sought to

ensure that all land holdings of 100 acres and above, which are lying idle or are

7



8 Rural Land Development in Jamaica

grossly under-utilized, shall be put into productive use. A Land Development and Utilization Act was passed in June 1966, and in December of that year a Commission was appointed to implement the Act. The Commission was given authority to survey all agricultural holdings of 100 acres or more in Jamaica (some 1 623 farms, according to provisional figures: Fig. 1) and to ascertain by

ESTIMATED NUMBER & ACREAGE OF FARMS

OF 100 ACRES OR MORE IN JAMAICA ( BY SIZE GROUP :1967)

Number Acreage A

TOTAL: 1,623 UNITS TOTAL: 1,014,529 ACRES

100 - 500 ACRES 500 -1000

1000-1500 1500 -2000 Ii 2000 ACRES AND OVER

Fig. 1

inspection and resource appraisal the degree of under-utilization present on these holdings. If, as a result of the inspections, 50 acres or more are adjudged idle or under-used, notice is served on the occupier that he is not fulfilling his national responsibility to farm the land efficiently.

Occupiers receiving Idle Land Notices are required to submit plans for developing their farms. The majority of farmers who have appeared before the Commission thus far have, in fact, signified their intention to use their holdings more intensively and acceptable plans have been presented. Those unwilling or unable to undertake the required developments are served Idle Land Orders. Subject to an appeal to the Minister of Rural Land Development, acquisition of the property by government is undertaken, and suitable measures to intensify its use are drawn up. Such measures include sub-division and creation of small farms and nucleated villages, sub-letting to tenants for commercial food crop production, the planting of tree crops, and afforestation.

By March 1968, 1 233 agricultural holdings of over 100 acres had been provisionally identified and Commission records established. Out of a total area of 841 727 acres, some 80 364 acres (or 9.5 %) has been adjudged idle in a first approximation. The spatial distribution of these under-utilized lands on a parish basis is shown in Fig. 2. Their concentration in the south-central tier of parishes, from St. Elizabeth on the west, through Manchester, Clarendon, to St. Catherine on the east, is not unexpected. This pattern corresponds on the one hand to the

most extensive areas of level to moderately rugged land on the island (Fig. 3), but also to areas with lower and less reliable moisture supply on the other (Fig. 4). A more rigorous inspection of over 700 selected agricultural holdings has since revealed rather higher percentages of idle land than those originally estimated, the largest measure of under-utilization (26%) occurring on farms



Rural Land Development in Jamaica 9

ACREAGES ADJUDGED IDLE ON

FARMS OF 100 ACRES OR MORE IN JAMAICA (BY PARISH,1968)

Montego 13ay f

2,16OVER 10JAMES 0 5 115 2,164 \ 3,588 T2,964A FigN

< 1 2,964 - t ~~ST. ANN- ST 2 WESTMORLAND

LA 6,544

NDMOARRM O JMI

3.962 .5. 40-60i.

MITR BALANCE JAMAICA

ABR120 0 1 59 NDRE 152975mie

Montego By6 AFTERL.A.SEYR

UNDER 22MONTHS

4- i

OVER0 D 11122000ie

Fig. 4

Rugd highl diseterafodeourt |,,2,,'-,-J%'-Cockpitn

( ignous emopi,edentarins,

R :s ugged, hi lly dissect d t fholded monglome rae,tfs t

I IDissected karstic plateaus a hills with steep to moderate slopes ( white a yellow limestones ) 0 5 10 15 miles

E Interior basins a lowlands ( recent alluvium, sands, grovels, coral)' ' I

Fig. 3

MOISTURE B3ALANCE : JAMAICA

NUMBER OF MONTHS WITH POSITIVE BALANCE

6 AFTER L.A. EYRE

. ... .. .. .. .. . . ..... 1N

f ~~~~~~4 1 0llll

UDR2 MONT Kigt _tX_

22 - 4

4 6 2j

W/X6 - 8 2

111111 a-o 11 | VER 10 "0 5 10 15 20 25 miles

Fig. 4



10 Rural Land Development in Jamaica

PERCENTAGE OF IDLE LAND ON INSPECTED FARMS IN JAMAICA

(BY SIZE GROUP:1968)

30%1. _ 305, 260?l

25% 2 - 25*l 2105.

20% - 2 20500

15% 13.8% 15% 12.4%

10% 10%

011. 0%1

100-200 ACRES 200-500 ACRES 500-1000 ACRES OVERI1000ACRES

Fig. 5

between 200 and 500 acres (Fig. 5). Indeed, if only those agricultural holdings which have received Notices are considered, the proportion of idle land appears to vary inversely with the size of the farms. By November 1969, the number of Idle Land Notices issued by the Commission amounted to 354; the total area adjudged idle under these notices was 89 509 acres. Thirty-two Idle Land Orders had been issued by the same date, on properties totalling 25 084 acres; of this area, 19 005 acres were classified as idle.

The Commission's policy thus far has undoubtedly met with some success towards the achievement of its primary objectives, a fuller and more productive land use. 'Not only on the agricultural units which have been inspected or those in respect of which Notices signifying under-utilization have been served, but on large areas of other lands, developments have been started as a result of the existence and operations of the Commission.'1

Clearly, a number of problems have arisen at all stages of the Commission's operations, both in the field and in administration. Shortages of trained and experienced staff have hampered the agro-technical work of land use inspections, land capability classification, and surveying. A critical issue has involved establishing parameters to determine the degree and extent of under-utilization, and a farm's potential for development. Tracts of unimproved pasture, ruinate

(bush fallow land), and woodland have created particular problems in assessing the feasibility of more intensive land use. Nevertheless a set of criteria of 'idleness' has been developed, based on a land capability classification and

current land use practices in Jamaica. 'These criteria, which form the basis of reference for field inspections, are constantly being improved and refined. This is not to deny that a certain amount of subjective judgment is inescapable in determining the degree of idleness of any particular tract of land . . . we will in

the future have to set higher standards if we are to help bring about increasing efficiency in the use of land.'2 Further problems relate to tenurial arrangements; some farms have their owners in residence while others are absentee-operated.

Higher percentages of idle land have been recorded on holdings with absentee proprietors.

By the end of 1969, with three years of experience behind the Commission, these and other problems of implementation are less formidable constraints on

the activities of this body for rural land development in Jamaica than was



Rural Land Development in Jamaica 11

formerly feared. A further three years should produce tangible evidence of the infilling of interstices in the settled areas of the country, and the appearance of

more intensive farming systems on lands which are presently under-achieving. The future stability of Jamaica's economic and political life, pari passu, could well depend upon the sustained efforts of the Land Development and Utilization Commission.

The entire exercise, as well as other nation-wide schemes to advance agri culture in Jamaica-the division of the country into 13 Land Authority Areas in 1969 for example-await detailed investigations by geographers. The spatial analysis of 'package' inputs and anticipated outputs; the application of game theory to decision making; an examination of the changing patterns of rural land use; and consideration of the socioeconomic consequences of development programmes in the agricultural sector, are illustrative of research themes which may be pursued by post-graduate students of geography in Jamaica. The Geography Department at the University of the West Indies encourages inquiries from MSc. or PhD. candidates who wish to specialize in agricultural geography in the tropics.

Notes

'LDUC, First Annual Report of the Land Development and Utilization Commission (King ston, Jamaica, 1969), p. 7.

2ibid., p. 19.

Agricultural Improvement Spring Symposium of the Agrarian Landscape Research Group 30 April-2 May 1970. Arrangements have been made for the Second Spring Symposium to be held at the Experimental Station of the Nature Conservancy at Monks Wood, near Huntingdon, from Thursday 30 April to Saturday 2 May 1970. The theme of the symposium will be both historical and spatial aspects of agricultural improvement. The programme will include the following papers:

Dr E. J. T. Collins (Institute of Agricultural History, University of Reading): Corn production in Great Britain, 1750-1850-the problems of quantification.

Mr R. I. Hodgson (Manchester): The progress of enclosure in County Durham 1550 1850.

Dr J. A. Yelling (Birkbeck College, London): Open fields, enclosures and cropping practices in east Worcestershire 1540-1867.

Mr A. D. M. Phillips (Keele): The development of underdraining on a Yorkshire estate during the nineteenth century. Dr J. Sheail (Nature Conservancy): Changes in farming and wildlife since 1700. Aspects of agricultural improvement in nineteenth-century Surrey, in medieval Eng land, and in nineteenth-century France will be introduced respectively by Mr A. G.

Parton (Kingston-upon-Thames College of Technology), Mr H. S. A. Fox (Cambridge) and Mr H. D. Clout (University College London). Dr I. Adams (Edinburgh) will lead a discussion on a provisional terminology of the agrarian landscape. A field excursion into East Anglia on Saturday 2 May will be led by Mr H. C. Prince (University College London). Full details and registration forms for the meeting will be circulated to all members of the Agrarian Landscape Research Group. Other members of the IBG who wish to receive further information should write to Dr A. R. H. Baker, Department of

Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge.



rural land development in jamaica

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