JAMAICA FAO COUNTRY REPORT 1.0 Introduction To The Country And Its Agricultural Sector: Size: Jamaica has a total land area of 10991 Sq.Km. making it the third largest Caribbean Island. The maximum length of the Island is 234.95 Km and the width varies from 35.4 – 82 Km. Geographical Location World Position: Jamaica enjoys a favourable location in relation to the western world. As demonstrated in Figure 1, the total landmass of the Americas, most of Europe and much of North and West Africa lie within a hemisphere centred on Jamaica, that is, within a 9 654 kilometres radius of the country. This hemisphere represents the major portion of the world’s economic activity and markets, although inhabited by less than half of the world’s population. Almost all of Jamaica’s cultural and economic associations are with countries in this hemisphere. Western Europe is within 9 654 kilometres, while Eastern Canada and the United States are well within 3 218 kilometres. A further advantage is provided because direct travel distance lines to those three areas are mostly over water which is the cheapest form of commercial transportation. The increasing use and improvement of aircraft make straight-line distance from Jamaica to other places in the world very pertinent. The closest link with North America is Miami, some 965 kilometres to the north. Such major cities as New York, Montreal, Toronto and Mexico City are from 2 414 kilometres to 3 218 kilometres flying distance; Rio de Janeiro in South America, Dakar in Africa and London and Madrid in Europe are 6 436 kilometres to 8 045 kilometres distant; Tokyo, Cape Town and New Delhi are 12 872 to 14 481 kilometres; Singapore and Sydney are 16 090 to 17 699 kilometres away. Completion of the Panama Canal in 1912 enhanced Jamaica’s position both economically and strategically. The Canal, located approximately 965 kilometres southwest of Jamaica, attracts much worldwide ocean traffic; Jamaica lies in the centre of the Atlantic entrance to the Canal and on the direct line of routes to and from it. Jamaica’s proximity to the Panama Canal gives it strategic importance during wartime because the Canal could be defended using Jamaica as a 1 base, and those countries deriving benefit from the Canal would find it in their own best interest to safeguard the security of the island. Jamaica’s favourable location with respect to other countries of the western world has great economic significance. The rapid expansion of tourism, an important component of the country’s economy, results in a large part from its proximity to the heavy population concentrations of the eastern United States and Canada and from the fact that Jamaica is the logical first stop on tours of several Caribbean islands. This proximity to North America also facilitates trade activities, especially the export of foodstuffs and raw materials. Although the distance to the United Kingdom and other European countries is considerably more than the distance to the United States and Canada, it is still closer than many other Commonwealth countries. The favourable location of the country also makes it feasible for many Jamaicans to travel to North America and Europe in order to take advantage of employment and educational opportunities and generally become exposed to ways of life elsewhere. This cultural and economic exchange is of great benefit to Jamaica in terms of increased skills, the new awareness obtained and the savings sent home by Jamaicans employed overseas. Regional Position: Jamaica being a part of the Greater Antilles is located in the Northwestern section of the Caribbean Archipelago between 76°11’ West, Longitude; Longitude 78°22’ West; Latitude 18°31’ North; Latitude 17°42’ North, at Morant Point, Negril Point, Lilly’s Rock and Portland Point respectively. Jamaica lies 2071.50 km South of the United States of America, 145 km South of Cuba and 160.9 km. to the west of Haiti. Political Geography (Regions): Jamaica is divided into three counties and these are further divided into fourteen parishes, each with its Parish Capital. The counties are namely Surrey to the east, Middlesex the central county and Cornwall to the west. Surrey has four parishes: Kingston, St. Andrew, St. Thomas and 2 Portland. Middlesex has five parishes: St. Catherine, St. Mary, Clarendon, St. Ann and Manchester. Cornwall has five parishes: St. Elizabeth, Trelawny, St. James, Hanover and Westmoreland. Table 1 gives the area of Jamaica by parish. Table 1: Area, By Parish In Square Miles And Square Kilometres Parish Capital Area in (sq. miles) Area in (sq. kilometres) Jamaica Kingston 4,243.6 10,990.5 Kingston Kingston 8.4 21.8 St. Andrew Half-Way-Tree 166.3 430.7 St. Thomas Morant Bay 286.8 742.8 Portland Port Antonio 314.3 814.0 St. Mary Port Maria 235.7 610.5 St. Ann St. Ann’s Bay 468.2 1,212.6 Trelawny Falmouth 337.7 874.6 St. James Montego Bay 229.7 594.9 Hanover Lucea 173.9 450.4 Westmoreland Savannah-la-mar 311.6 807.0 St. Elizabeth Black River 468.1 1,12.4 Manchester Mandeville 320.5 830.1 Clarendon May Pen 461.9 1,196.3 St. Catherine Spanish Town 460.4 1,192.4 Source: Survey Department Climate Jamaica has a maritime tropical climate mainly distinguished by warm trade winds, which, in the Caribbean generally blow from east to east-north-east. During the winter months, from November to February, cold fronts coming from the North American continent affect Jamaica with occasionally strong northerly winds and localized heavy rainfall, particularly in the northern half of the island. Synoptic scale features produce most of the rainfall year round. Islandwide, long term mean annual rainfall shows a bimodal pattern with primary maximum in October and secondary in May, but this pattern varies significantly from year to year. March is, in the mean, the driest month. Mean raindays vary from 60 to 200 but whereas places with lower 3 numbers of rain-days receive low annual rainfall, high rain-day regions are not the wettest areas. Most coastal areas receive less than 80 rain-days per year. The National Meteorological Service in Jamaica maintains 24-hour communications with the National and Regional Hurricane Centre in Florida, particularly during the official hurricane season which is from June to November, thereby ensuring the timely dissemination of forecasts and warnings. Rainfall: Islandwide, during 1951 to 1980, annual rainfall range from a maximum of 2,593 millimetres (102.09 ins.) in 1963 to a minimum of 1,324 millimetres (52.12 ins) in 1976 with an average of 1,940 millimetres (76.38 ins.) annually. The long-term (1881-1990) mean annual rainfall was 1,895 millimetres (74.61 ins.). The wettest year on record was 1993 with an annual rainfall of 2,960 millimetres (116.54 ins.) while the driest year was 1920 with an annual rainfall 0f 1,299 millimetres (51.14 ins.). Some mountainous areas to the northeast receive more than 5,080 millimetres (35.00 ins.) annually. Most parts of the island have 2 wet seasons, May to June and September to November and these annual wet seasons occur as regular cycles. The majority of the rainfall during the May to June period is as a result of the periodic march of solar radiation intensity, which peaks at that time. Rainfall in September to November is more directly dependent on the lifting and movement of the sub-tropical high pressure cell in the Atlantic Ocean. Such behaviour deepens the easterly Trades to allow the development of instability zones; as such, a significant portion of the rainfall during this period is produced by upper and lower level troughs, tropical waves, tropical depressions, tropical storms and hurricanes. The driest period is usually December to March. Most of the rainfall from November to March is associated with cold fronts migrating from North America. 4 Whether during the dry season or rainy season, however, other rainfall-producing systems are influenced by the sea breeze and orographic effects, which tends to produce short-duration showers, mainly during the mid-afternoon. Temperature: Apart from rapid temperature fluctuations associated with afternoon showers and or the passage of frontal systems, the island’s temperature are fairly constant all the year round under the moderating influence of warm waters of the Caribbean sea. In coastal areas, daily temperatures average 26.2° Celsius (79.2° Fahrenheit). Inland, temperature values are lower, depending on elevation, but irrespective of elevation, the warmest months are June to August and the coolest, December to February. The diurnal range of temperature is much greater than the annual range and exceeds 11.0° Celsius (20° Fahrenheit in coastal areas. At elevations above 610 metres (2,000 feet), minimum temperatures of the order of 10.0° Celsius (50.0° Fahrenheit) have been reported occasionally, when very active cold fronts reach the island. Wind: For most of the year, the daily wind pattern is dominated by the northeast Trades. By day, on the north coast, the sea breeze combines with the Trades to give an east-northeasterly wind at an average speed of 27 kpm (15 knots) and along the south coast an east-southeasterly wind at an average speed of 34 kpm (18 knots). In December to March, however, the Trades are weakest and the local wind regime is a combination of Trades, sea breeze and a northerly or north- westerly component associated with cold fronts and high pressure areas from the United States of America. By night, the Trades combine with land breezes which blow offshore down the slopes of the hills near the coast.