- Photo by Claudia Gardner
William Parkins preparing crops to be sown on the farm of the Santoy Farmers Co-operative
in Hanover.
Claudia Gardner, Gleaner Writer
HANOVER:
FROM HE was a little boy often trekking behind his grandparents to their farms in sections of Rhodes Hall and Island Pen, Hanover, William Parkins has been loving farming.
Today, Mr. Parkins is one of the founding members of the Santoy Farmers Co-operative in Santoy, western Hanover, and along with the six other members, he cultivates fruits and vegetables such as watermelon, callaloo, cabbage, pak choy and pumpkin.
MAJOR ALL-INCLUSIVE
He also produces cantaloupe, yellow squash, cauliflower and broccoli, which are sold to major all-inclusive hotels and selected chains of supermarkets.
At daybreak, Mr. Parkins leaves home for his farm.
He said dedicating adequate time to his farm was important, especially with the current preparations to meet the demand for more agricultural produce for the upcoming winter tourist season.
The Santoy group was formed in 1998 with funding and management training from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA).
"With the funds we received from CIDA, we were able to undergo major capacity-building," Mr. Parkins said, adding that sound environmental practices should be adopted in agriculture.
"Farmers need to practise environmental control," he said. "The rudiments of field husbandry need to be understood."
And, Mr. Parkins is encouraging younger farmers to become members of groups in order to obtain more benefits from their careers.
But, he said, there was need for greater recognition of agriculture, as it could contribute to a reduction in the country's unemployment rate.
"I don't like to see people idle. The Government should give the people the idle lands to cultivate on because we are importing too much food stuff, a lot of which we already produce in Jamaica," he said. "I would encourage young people to farm, because without agriculture a country is not independent."
