LOCAL ORGANIZATION AND PARTICIPATION IN INTEGRATED RURAL DEVELOPMENT IN JAMAICA

Following a growth in agricultural production of only 0.7% per year from 1972-77, this report investigates the role of LO"s in Jamaican agriculture in order to improve planning and implementation of the joint A.I.D.-Government of Jamaica Second Integrated Rural Development Project (IRD). The impoverished Two Meetings and Pindar River watersheds are emphasized, but because these areas epitomize Jamaican agriculture and because most of the LO"s examined -- the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS), commodity organizations, a cooperative bank, and civic groups -- are national, the results apply to Jamaica as a whole. Non-agricultural LO"s, primarily concerned with community and social well-being, attracted few members unless commercial advantages were offered. Most agricultural LO"s had very narrow responsibilities and major economic decisions were made by non-local administrators, but membership, primarily a function of the type of crops grown, was higher and was used to gain access to crop marketing channels. The report concludes that Jamaican farmers will need to be more fully engaged in LO"s to facilitate cooperation and the future spread of new technologies. It is therefore recommended that: (1) established LO"s, particularly the JAS, be encouraged to take on new functions and embark on more vigorous development work; (2) LO"s provide tangible benefits (e.g., seed capital) to convince their membership of the importance of participation in project efforts; (3) LO"s tailor their activities and benefits to meet varying farm and community needs in different localities; and (4) LO leaders and members be allowed meaningful input into project activities to prevent feelings of powerlessness and bureaucratic domination from discouraging support of rural development projects. The survey sample and methodology are appended.