MANDEVILLE:
FARMERS IN Salmon Town and adjoining areas in Manchester are blasting Minister of Agriculture, Roger Clarke, for what some are calling being "out of touch" in continually calling for Jamaican farmers to find ways to produce more.
The farmers were particularly upset about the Minister's presentation at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA) open day at the Anglican Church Hall in Claremont, St. Ann on November 5.
Minister Clarke had said then, "the time has come when we need to look at agriculture as not just planting crops, but as the tool of rural development, where we keep our farmers on the land."
However, farmers such as Wesley Miller of Salmon Town, are finding the cost of farming their land prohibitive, due to the high cost of labour, fertiliser and pesticides. This, they said, coupled with the low prices they are paid for their produce by both higglers and exporters make farming unattractive.
Mr. Miller, who has been farming for the last 25 years, told The Gleaner that he could only afford to farm on a small scale now, because to produce a good yield he would have to plant several acres of crop which would involve the use of a substantial amount of chemicals.
To plant one acre, would attract a minimum cost of $25,000, he said, with ploughing accounting for the first $8,000. He also said that in previous years he use to get a better yield, using natural mulch from tree leaves and other vegetable matter, but since the bauxite companies cut down the trees and mined the land not much will grow without the extensive use of chemicals.
He said that, in the past, fallen leaves from the trees would rot into the soil, adding nutrients and making the land more fertile, but there were no trees to carry out this natural process now, as a result of the mining activity in the area over the years.
Another farmer, Aston Reid, echoed those sentiments while lamenting the fact that, when he was a child, fruit trees allegedly destroyed by the mining activity were a source of food for children.
The farmers also complained that they had lost crops during the recent flood rains and that no one from any of the Government agencies visited or offered them any assistance.
Several young men in the area said they would love to farm, as they liked the soil, but the means to do so in a viable way is beyond their reach.
"We cannot call we self ago do farming with machete and hoe," said George Palmer, "when countries like Costa Rica a use machine that make them can ship stuff to us, pay duty and the seller make a profit."
The irony, he said, is that with all of that, the Costa Rican product was still sold cheaper than when it is grown here. According to Mr. Palmer, the Minister of Agriculture needs a "reality check" and needed to stop talking "down" to farmers and do something to help them become competitive.
