Claude Wilson, Freelance Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
ANTILLES CHEMICAL Company's announcement of 19-46% increase in the price of fertiliser is seen as a severe setback to the crop production sector still under the weather the severe drought and two devastating floods of last year. Even with a roll back in the levels of increases, the price hike in fertiliser comes at a most inappropriate time when the sector tries to rally from vagaries of nature and the competition from farm imports.
With production cost for most crops already high, it is reasonable to assume that farmers will have to resort to cost pruning to be able to provide the market with affordable farm produce.
Fertiliser input is a significant cost in commercial crop production and, therefore, it is the most efficient use of this product that will bring the cost of production to reasonable levels. An agronomist is suggesting that farmers embrace the practice of periodical soil testing and leaf analysis to determine the nutrient status and the precise fertiliser requirement for the particular crop. Composting and farmyard manure offers one solution to reducing the over dependence on expensive synthetic fertilisers and at the same time cutting the level of chemical residues in the soil. Sandals Montego Bay environment specialist Arlene Lawrence strongly supports the concept of composting as a fairly low cost means of providing plants with the nutrients requirements for growth.
"Composting, which can be done fairly simple and inexpensive, plants and other material that would otherwise be wasted is a highly recommended practice for both small and large farms as a cost saving method of providing soil nutrients, she told Farmers Weekly.
Compost, she said, improves soil texture and its nutritional quality, cuts disposal costs of waste and helps the environment and biodiversity. The late Aimee Webster in her book Caribbean Gardening supports this view. "Animal dung and compost are the most valuable of all additives because in addition to containing essential plant nutrients - nitrogen, phosphorus and potash - they also contribute to improving soil texture. The use of compost to provide soil nutrients not only reduces the requirement for costly synthetic fertilizer but also is a move towards sustainable agriculture, in which environmental and social cost is considered along with productivity. World market is rapidly shifting towards organically grown food in response to health consciousness and of such farmers in the near future will use less and less inorganic fertiliser in crop production. Pricing this product out of their reach will naturally leads to increase organic farming.
