George Henry photo
Former Agricultural Extension Officer, Jonathan Donaldson picking tangerines from one of several trees at his home in Spaldings, Clarendon.
George Henry, Gleaner Writer
SPALDINGS, Clarendon:
FROM THE days when agricultural Extension Officers travelled on animals to visit farmers to the days of more improved methods of transportation, Jonathan Donaldson, 78, has experienced the evolution of the career of an Agricultural Extension Officer of the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS).
"When I started as an Extension Officer in 1951 we had to know the farmers. I used to ride a horse, and there were four Extension Officers for the parish of Clarendon... I was covering Pennants down to Silent Hill and I had to attend (Jamaica Agricultural Society) JAS meetings," said Mr. Donaldson in an interview with Farmers Weekly.
Mr. Donaldson who retired from the government service in 1986, and began to work at the Citrus Growers' Association and the Jamaica Sugar Company as an Extension Officer in that same year, is now on pre-retirement leave from the association.
"As Extension Officers, we had to give the small farmers instructions on all aspects of agriculture. The farmers benefited tremendously from our instructions, because they were always involved", said Mr. Donaldson.
However he said today's Extension Officers were not as concerned about farmers as the older officers were.
He said: Farmers should not have to be complaining about not seeing their Extension Officers, because more are employed today compared to the number who worked between the 1950s and the 1980s and these officers are more mobile given the availability of vehicles.
The retired Extension Officer who developed a love for agriculture while growing up in St. Thomas cultivates oranges, tangerines, grapefruits, sugarcane, bananas, guava, yams, vegetables, ginger, papaya and lychee on a one-acre property at his home in Spaldings.
He is married to Olive and is the union has produced four boys: Fennis, Raymond, Owen and Donavan. The couple's daughter died.
