George Henry, Gleaner Writer
Farmer Bertram Facey examines corn stalks on his farm at Sanguinetti, Clarendon recently.
SPALDINGS, Clarendon:
BERTRAM FACEY has been a farmer for more than 40 years. With his wealth of experience in the business, it is hard to believe that Mr. facey never thought he would become one.
The 60-year-old told Farmers Weekly that he did not like "the dirt work" but later changed his mind.
"I don't really like farming, but that is what I have to do because work is hard to get," said Mr. Facey, a former construction labourer who started farming at age 17.
In those days, he said, farming was good. Mr. Facey said with just $15 his day's pay from construction work he was able to purchase a bag of fertiliser, an ounce of tomato seeds and a pound of diathene.
PROFITABLE YIELD
That first crop, planted at Spaldings Hill in Manchester, yielded him so much money that he was able to purchase land at Cobbla in the parish, he said. He then bought material to start the construction of his house as well as more material to plant other crops.
Today, times are different, said Mr. Facey, who plants yam, sweet potatoes, plantains, banana, dasheen, corn, pumpkins, cane and other crops on a 1.5 acre property at Sanguinetti in Clarendon.
Mr. Facey said he has not recovered from Hurricane Ivan, which affected the farm last September. He is also still feeling effects of a long drought,
which caused the loss of all his crops. The two acts of nature caused losses of over $700,000,
he said.
With the losses have also come increasing prices. He told The Farmers Weekly that things are so expensive that he and many of his colleagues have become frustrated. Enthusiasm is quickly disappearing, he said.
To make matters worse, the farm is producing fewer yields, Mr. Facey said. However, despite the setbacks, he plans to continue farming. He said he would like to plant other crops but desperately needs help from the Government.
