By George Henry, Gleaner Writer 
Malvern farmer, Kingsley Palmer, attending to his beetle trap, which is used to help to eliminate the sweet potato beetle. - George Henry Photo.
MALVERN, St. Elizabeth:
SEVERAL FARMERS in the Malvern area of South East St. Elizabeth have been known to traditionally produce one or two of the same crops each year, for decades. Crops such as leafy vegetables like cabbage, lettuce and calaloo, as well as yellow yam, tomatoes, to name a few.
However, recently, Farmers Weekly has found that the tradition among small farmers had started to change. One such farmer is Kingsley Palmer, who has been producing some of the crops known to be grown in Malvern, including sweet peppers and carrots.
A visit to Mr. Palmer's farm showed that he has ventured into yet another crop; sweet potatoes. Although sweet potato is a well-known tuber across the island, it is not produced on a large scale in the Malvern area.
The idea of venturing into the production of sweet potatoes, according to him, came out of the notion that it is one that cost very little to produce, in terms of cash, as well as the fact that it is well known for its longevity. It is also known to stand up well to the dry spells which occur in the Malvern area, as well as on the plains of St. Elizabeth between January and April each year.
"Last year I planted some carrots and I wanted to do a bit of crop rotation. I decided also that, due to the slope of the land, I should plant some sweet potatoes, which is a hardy crop and a cover crop which can prevent erosion on the slopes, so I decided to go into its production," he pointed out.
He told Farmers Weekly that there is a good market for the tuber all year round, as enough is not being produced to satisfy local demand, as well as the overseas market.
Mr. Palmer is encouraging other farmers in the Malvern area and other drought stricken areas to enter its production, as it can be planted anytime of the year. It costs very little to produce, does not demand a great deal of labour and there is a ready market for it.
