By the Caribbean Journal staff

It began as a simple campaign — one urging Jamaicans to eat local food and produce.

12 years later, it’s become a game changer, according to Norman Grant, president of the Jamaica Agricultural Society.

The “Eat Jamaican” campaign, which encourages Jamaicans to “Grow What We Eat … Eat What We Grow,” has saved Jamaica more than $500 million USD in food imports since launching in November 2003.

“This is the way to reposition the agricultural sector and the economy on a whole, through a process of integrated rural development that will lead to sustainable food security and food independence,” he said this week.

Now, as the campaign celebrates its 12th anniversary, it’s looking to do more from reestablishing Jamaica’s positioning as an agricultural country to establishing new farmers markets in parishes across the island.