Bugsy, the farmer from UWI
Published:Friday | August 13, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Daraine Luton, Senior Staff Reporter
HUBERT 'BUGSY Segal' GRAY is not the typical city boy who graduates from university and then searches for a space among the socialites.
He is not an introvert either. This 30-year-old farmer will tell you that he has had his stint of shopping uptown and partying like a rock star.
But that lifestyle has been put on hold. The music which consumes his ears these days is the bleating of his goats, grunting of his pigs and squeaking of rabbits deep in the St Andrew hills.
It was only a few years ago that Gray was struggling to fend off farmer jokes tossed at him when he was a student at the University of the West Indies (UWI), Mona.
Back then, Gray planted cash crops, including vegetables, at the back of Rooster, the block on which he resided at Taylor Hall. He recalls how his 'brothers' would mock him and seldom offer assistance on the garden plot even though they were the first to reap his produce.
Great plans
The rebuke and laughter did not dampen his ambitions, nor did it curtail his desires to pursue his agricultural dream. Instead, Gray kept his love for agriculture and has literally taken it to greater heights - up in the hills of east rural St Andrew in a community called Violet Bank.
"I consider myself very lucky because by day I am a scientist, and when I am home, I am a farmer. These are my two dream jobs," Gray told The Gleaner.
Gray studied entomology at the UWI and now works at the Ministry of Industry, Investment and Commerce as a food science specialist. Yet, he finds time to run his farm, for which he has great plans.
"I am going to start with meat goats, but my ultimate aim is to do dairy goats. The investment in infrastructure is a little bit expensive right now. My aim is to have 40 breeding does by the end of the year and that will give me 100-plus goats in one and a half year," he said. "I now have 27 pigs, including five breeding sows. My aim is to have 15 breeding sows by year end."
Business hurt by credit
He added: "In terms of rabbits, my aim is to have 40 breeding does which can allow me to produce 100 pounds of rabbit meat in nine months."
Like many investors, Gray has put his cash in agriculture only to be burnt. Just over a year ago, he took a personal loan from a bank and invested in a chicken farm. He told The Gleaner that the venture would have done better if his business partners had demonstrated greater commitment. The chicken farm but belly up after persons took meat and eggs on credit and then delayed payment.
Gray said there were other issues that mitigated against him enjoying the fruits of his labour. He said he decided to count his losses when it became apparent that he was unlikely to get more than the $17,000 return he got on his $500,000 investment.
"I am still repaying those loans, but I am determined not to allow that to hold back my progress," Gray said.
Since his chicken experiment, the Montego Bay native has relocated to Violet Bank and continued on the agricultural highway.
When The Gleaner visited his farm this week, he had just finished making rabbit huts. Gray said he has done the research and is convinced that it is a potentially lucrative venture. He plans to be a force in the rabbit-meat market.
Rada trouble
But his dreams thus far are being tempered by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), which he says has tied him up for six months.
"I have been waiting for them to verify my farm since February. I have made no less than half a dozen appointments for them to visit me. They still have not visited me," Gray lamented.
He said the approach to agriculture needs to be more revolutionary if Jamaica is to succeed in reducing its import bill and growing its economy. Critical to this, he says, is the need to "give youths a chance".
"We need a genuine thrust for youths in agriculture. Not something that is political as I see on TV. When people are contributing to nation building, you need to give them the assistance," Gray said.
He added: "I believe it is a crime to have productive land in bush being unproductive while people who want them to use cannot access them."
He has, however, argued that there is a need to educate farmers about the best techniques to maximise productivity.
For now, though, Gray is hoping that investors will partner with him on his agricultural venture. He also hopes that the Government will implement a comprehensive land-redistribution policy to allow persons interested in agriculture to access lands.
At the same time, Gray says it is important that financial institutions come up with innovative ways to provide capital to people in the industry who have sound business plans and seem committed to ensuring Jamaica's food security.