Nurse practitioner makes a business out of farming

Despite being trained as a geriatric nurse practitioner, Sheron Taylor is doing what she enjoys best: farming.

Taylor has been involved in the cultivation of bananas, plantains, and coconuts in St Mary for the last 15 years. She has transitioned into cash crops such as pumpkin, okras, sweet corn, and watermelon, which mature within 90 days.

The farmer, who occupies 10 acres of SCJ Holdings Ltd lands in Bernard Lodge, St Catherine, said that she decided to expand her efforts, so she secured a 10-year lease and started cultivation in November 2020.

Taylor said that easier access to her farm from the Corporate Area also led to her making the leap into agriculture.

“I am aware of the challenges within the industry, therefore, for us (farmers) to survive, we have to diversify our approach and strengthen the business aspect,” she told The Gleaner.

Taylor has now employed a farm manager to oversee daily operations and has also hired a consultant.

“I realised that for us to prevent a glut in the markets, we have to do surveys on proper crop cultivation. There is also the need for data on available markets trends on how to maximise the best prices and services from the farms to the tables of the end users,” Taylor said.

Three labourers are employed to Taylor’s farm. Produce is distributed to vendors, supermarkets, and wholesales.

She is now going into the production of onion, sweet potato, cassava, red peas, Irish potato, and beetroot.

“We’ve decided to plant an acre of these crops and have secure markets so that the result of the professional approach in the business is necessary,” Taylor said.

While there are challenges such as disease, theft, and low-worker productivity, she has had a sense of achievement from agriculture.

“There is a great feeling of accomplishment that one enjoys while being able to watch things grow to maturity,” Taylor said.