Marjorie Stair, Contributor
THE WEST INDIES cricket team, dominated by Jamaican cricketers buoyed by having just won the Busta Cup, started on the road to once again dominating Test cricket by playing a relatively weak team, Zimbabwe. Having built up their confidence and that of their new captain, it was so much easier to face the challenge of Pakistan and their performance against this team really energised them resulting in their beating England by an innings and 93 runs in the first Test. They followed the sure path to success - that of "gently stretching the boundaries of their limitations", building confidence and reviving spirit by building on small victories. What has happened since eludes me but there must be some logical explanation in the reversal of their performance to date.
It is quite clear to me that, not only do the other Caribbean countries look to Jamaica for leadership - still - but some of the issues that they now grapple with are ones that Jamaica has dealt with in the past. These include the building of a good tourism product; the effective reform of the civil service to bring it in tune with the parameters of the new millennium; rural infrastructure - referring not only to roads but facilities such as medical and others of importance to rural citizens; the level of professionalism and competence in the media that I mentioned in the last article.
Like our sporting teams, however, sustainability seems to be an elusive feature of our development and, instead of building on the solid foundation that was ours, we have not only lost ground but seem to be intent on destroying it. Today we excel; tomorrow it is as if we don't give a damn. Like the proverbial cow, we give the milk, but spill it before it can be used for greater good.
The state of the Jamaican economy and, in particular, our agricultural sector, are testimonies to this. Decades after failing to build on a sound agricultural research and development system that served as a model to other developing countries, especially in the areas of livestock, sugar and bananas, we keep making sporadic announcements of yet another scheme for the improvement in this area. Failing to raise productivity levels and create other improvements for agricultural enterprises for which we have niche and/or high-priced markets, as in the case of Blue Mountain coffee and Jamaican rum, we find ourselves uncompetitive or unable to meet market demand.
Jamaica, the ideal spot of novels and the tourist destination of which so many dream, now seem to have as its major attraction uninhibited sex and the promotion of alcohol to teenagers and young adults. This at a time when the world is promoting sexually responsible behaviour because of the devastating effect of HIV and AIDS; and all of us have so much information on the harmful effects of the abuse of alcohol and the dangers of smoking.
In his book, "Emotional Intelligence", Daniel Coleman quotes a Stanford psychologist as follows: "People's beliefs about their abilities have a profound effect on these abilities. Ability is not a fixed property; there is a huge variability in how you perform -- self-efficacy is how psychologists describe the belief that one has mastery over the events of one's life and can meet challenges as they arise. Developing a competency of any kind strengthens the sense of self-efficacy, making a person more willing to take risks and seek out more demanding challenges. And surmounting those challenges increases the sense of self-efficacy".
Our traditional industries and systems provided a relatively good quality of life for many of our citizens and created the foundation for many of the industries and enterprises that exist today. I do not believe that it is too late to take the small things on which we are still achieving success and, cognisant of the global economy in which we now operate, build on our small victories. We can effectively use the abundant resources available to us to rebuild our economy.
Marjorie A. Stair is an agronomist and horticultural specialist who is now living and working in St. Vincent.
