Roger Clarke (right), Minister of Agriculture, last Friday inspecting some of the herbal products being displayed by Howard Chin Fatt, president of the Trinidadian company, H&J Enterprises Limited at the third international symposium on Herbal Medicines in the Caribbean at the Medallion Hall Hotel, Kingston.
THE POTENTIAL for the exploitation of indigenous plants and animals to contribute to national income and employment should be explored, according to Dr. Chelston Brathwaite, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation in Agriculture (IICA).
Speaking at the opening session of the third international symposium on "Herbal Medicine in the Caribbean" at the Medal-lion Hall last Friday, Dr. Brathwaite said there was a growing multi-billion dollar industry in neutraceuticals.
Micro-enterprises could be created when indigenous plant and animal species are exploited for the production of antibiotics, anti-viral drugs, fragrances, aromas and insecticides, he said.
"It is against this background that the Agro-business Council, Scientific Research Council (SRC), the Natural Products Institute of the University of the West Indies and IICA have developed a draft pilot project to develop and contribute to a neutraceutical industry in Jamaica," said Dr. Brathwaite. "We believe that these initiatives hold the potential to increase our potential for employment in Jamaica," he said.
The IICA representative, said however, that the region must be vigilant to ensure that its resources are protected especially from those abroad who seek to exploit the biodiversity without contributing to national development.
Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, who also spoke at the opening, stressed the need for protection, through intellectual property rights, of knowledge gained from indigenous plants.
"We here in Jamaica have made the move to protect some of our indigenous plants but we need to do even more. There are large corporations lurking in the wings, ready to move into our domain to yet again deprive us of our patrimony," he said.
Mr. Clarke said the growth of industries engaged in the research and development of traditional herbs and medicine in Europe and North America has been phenomenal and it was critical that Jamaica stay ahead of this movement. The passing of the Intellectual Property Rights Act was part of the effort to protect the use of indigenous plants, he said.
- Rudolph Brown
