WALDERSTON, Manchester:
THE SHARP decline in Irish potato production in northern Manchester during the post Hurricane Ivan period, influenced career farmer Jeremiah Harrison to develop a new variety of tomatoes.
"This new breed of tomato was developed right here on this farm after we (the farmers) received no assistance to recoup our losses, following (the) hurricanes and drought," Mr. Harrison explained on a recent visit to his farm in Flagaman, Manchester. According to him, ''this new breed has not yet been named and is identified (only) by numbers."
Visits to the Christiana and Spaldings markets revealed that tomatoes were being sold for $100 per pound due to a shortage of the vegetable in the aftermath of the hurricanes. No tomatoes were seen except on Harrison 2 1/2-acre farm.
RECENT HURRICANES
Mr. Harrison, who is chairman of the Christiana Potato Growers Co-operative Association which supplies 75 per cent of the island's tuber, said the production of Irish potatoes has declined significantly due in part to the adverse effects of the recent hurricanes and drought. He lamented that farmers were not receiving any assistance from the authorities to recover from this downfall.
The devastation of the Irish potato crop was also evident on a tour of several other farms as the withering Irish potato fields stood desolate in the afternoon sun.
