Garth Rattray | Jamaica’s soil regeneration project

The nutritional yield of our agricultural crops is being depleted by decades of poor farming practices. Our soil has heavy metals and persistent organic pollutants from [manmade] pesticides. In the long term, our soil, and therefore farming problems will become untenable, and our health will inevitably suffer.

Thankfully, there is an organised and determined move afoot to reverse the damage done to our soil, as best as possible. The charge has been led by the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM). It is a non-governmental, non-profit organisation, established in May 2001 (after the Jamaica Organic Growers Association ceased to exist).

The JOAM partnered with the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, and Mining and launched the Jamaica Soil Regeneration and Fertility Improvement (JENESYS) Project. The project is aimed at improving soil fertility. The Jamaica government is funding this ambitious project (with a grant of $35 million) to educate farmers about organic farming principles and practices. Ultimately, this knowledge will rehabilitate our soil to improve fertility, safety and the quality of agricultural crops and livestock.

JOAM was catalysed to act decisively during the emergency phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Noting the dangers, problems and dependency on external suppliers inherent in Jamaica’s farming practices, the Jamaica government and the JOAM initiated a veritable revolution in farming practices.

SOLUTION IN ORGANIC FARMING

The solution to many of agricultural problems lies in organic farming principles and practices. By its very nature, organic farming does not expose farmers or consumers to potentially dangerous chemicals found in fertilisers, herbicides, fungicides, and pesticides. Organically grown produce is safer for pregnant women, babies, children, and all adults. Some organically grown foods contain more nutrients than regularly grown produce.

Healthy farming practices respect the soil by making use of the biodiversity within it and in the surrounding environment. Organic practices do not employ whole-scale destruction of insects and fungi. Some insects are beneficial to crops, and organic farming protects them. In fact, the prevailing scientific opinion is that natural soil is a bio-factory that, if left undisturbed by tilling and man-made chemicals, provides the best nutrients for farm products.

The JENESYS project began in June 2024 and is slated to run for 3 years. It is designed to benefit organic and conventional farmers alike. Its objectives include addressing the vexing problem of soil depletion, increasing the knowledge of soil biology, mitigating against climate change, enhancing water preservation, enabling self-reliance, encouraging economic growth and job creation, and paving the way for a “sustainable and resilient agricultural sector”. The beneficiaries include householders and consumers.

The project relies heavily on affordable and readily accessible soil fertility using composting. One of its aims is to reduce our dependence on imported fertilisers and farm products. Training is offered in advanced soil and water management, and soil-regeneration techniques. These techniques include mulching (to conserve moisture, moderate temperature, suppress weeds, and improve soil structure and fertility as organic mulches decompose and release nutrients), and cover cropping (to enhance soil structure, increase organic matter, improve water infiltration, reduce erosion, and enhance nutrient cycling).

Other techniques include crop rotation (to improve soil health/fertility, reduce erosion, break pest and disease cycles, and make more resilient ecosystems), and live contour barriers (which are strips of vegetation planted along the periphery to help prevent soil erosion and slow water runoff). The project places a lot of emphasis on enlightening the public about the importance of regenerating our natural environment.

WIDE RANGING

The JENESYS project includes in-depth soil testing and training programmes, it educates farmers on Johnson-Su composting (a “no-turn” composting system that creates a fungal-dominant compost rich in beneficial microorganisms, improving soil health and plant growth, and requiring minimal labour and producing no odours), vermicomposting (a natural process whereby earthworms convert waste material with rigid structures into compost… the compost produced in this green process is traditionally and popularly used as a natural fertiliser for enhancing plant growth), and Hügelkultur (German for “mound culture”… a gardening technique where raised beds are created by piling up wood debris and other organic materials, which then decompose and enrich the soil, creating a self-sustaining, no-dig garden). Farmers are also taught about seed saving (collecting, drying, and storing seeds for future planting).

The joint, islandwide training sessions by JOAM, the RADA, and other government extension services also educate farmers in biochar production. This is being set up in each parish in collaboration with traditional charcoal producers.

Biochar is a charcoal-like substance made by controlled pyrolysis – heating biomass (wood chips, plant residues, manure, and other agricultural waste products) to form a stable, carbon-rich material for carbon sequestration, which is great for getting rid of farm waste by converting it into useful material, reducing our carbon footprint and for soil improvement. It acts as a porous sponge that retains water and nutrients.

Very importantly, especially with our soil with heavy metal contamination, biochar also binds with heavy metals and chemicals (which is environmental remediation). It improves soil health and fertility. Interestingly, biochar is not new, it has been utilised by the indigenous people of the Amazon basin for thousands of years.

Part of the programme involves treatment of the soil with effective microorganisms (EM). Training is aimed at enhancing soil microbiomes with organic waste with the assistance of the National Solid Waste Management Authority and municipal corporations.

JENESYS is currently in phase two (of three). The theme is, “Healthy Soil Mek Jamaica Grow”.

Garth Rattray is a medical doctor with a family practice, and author of ‘The Long and Short of Thick and Thin’. Send feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and garthrattray@gmail.com.