Prime Minister Bruce Golding made a very important point, even if it was not new. The argument has been the constant refrain of people like Dr Henry Lowe and Dr Arnoldo Ventura - and others.

What Mr Golding did not do is to go far enough. He might have offered tangible initiatives that are within his gift.

In his address on Wednesday, at Mico University College, Mr Golding lamented Jamaica's failure at applied research, or, more correctly, the insufficiency of it. Not enough is being done to take ideas from the labs and fields into industry and commerce.

The prime minister's observation was in the context of a global economic environment drive by science and technology. No longer is comparative advantage, except in the case of a few countries, driven so much by access to cheap labour, the availability of primary resources or even proximity to markets.

The greater advantage is an economy's capacity to harness technology and manipulate information. Gaining pole position in this paradigm clearly demands an educated and trained workforce, an issue with which Jamaica continues to struggle.

That, however, as Mr Golding implied, is not to suggest that Jamaica is now without capacities - with its three full universities, a plethora of tertiary institutions and more than a handful of government organisations involved in various fields of research. Mr Golding has promised to merge the latter agencies in the coming fiscal year in an effort to gain efficiencies.

But notwithstanding the shortcomings of the current environment, the prime minister seemingly feels that Jamaica could still be doing more in research and development. He has two specific areas in mind: energy and agriculture.

His focus on these two areas makes absolute sense. Approximately 90 per cent of Jamaica's energy requirement comes from imported oil, the bill for which has risen more than a third over the past two years. This year it is estimated that the country's oil bill will be over US$3 billion or about a quarter of GDP. Moreover, over the past 30 years, while we have talked much about it, Jamaica has made only smalls gains in the efficient conversion of energy to economic output - and almost all the advances have come in the alumina sector.

So, Mr Golding wants research into technological solutions to lessen the energy bill. We suppose he would like new ideas on things like solar, wind, hydro and photovoltaic energy. And he would like ways to transform the island's antiquated agricultural production systems, which would help to enhance food security, especially in this time of rising food prices.

All these are good objectives, but will not be achieved merely by talking about them or even merging some government agencies. For, as Mr Golding is aware, research and development is expensive business, which is difficult for Jamaican institutions to finance.

More can be done, however, if there is a convergence between the private sector and institutions like the University of the West Indies, the University of Technology, Northern Caribbean University and even institutions like the Government's Scientific Research Council. The private sector should be encouraged towards this with incentives.

Mr Golding could perhaps start by offering generous tax rebates to companies that invest in research and development. He should also revive the prime ministerial policy group on science and technology with a new and more attractive image.