'Diversify if you want to survive'

Zadie Neufville, Gleaner Writer

Twenty-two years ago when Karl Jumi was contemplating a future after high school, his father - the late Moses Jumi, six-time national champion farmer - made him an offer to "come work with him on their new farm and work for himself rather than a stranger".

He accepted and became the old man's right-hand.

Karl is keeping his father's dream alive on the 450-acre property called Cherry Gardens, located just outside Gutters, St Catherine. The farm consists of some five acres of fish, a beef and dairy herd, a piggery, 2,500 heads of goat, a flock of about 80 sheep and some chickens for household use. It is this 'juggling', Karl said, that has kept the farm alive in the face of significant declines in the agricultural sector.

The Jumi family's involvement from the farm to the marketplace has kept them afloat, even as the hard times sent many Jamaican dairy and beef farmers out of business. Cherry Gardens supplies fresh milk to Nestlé and the wholesale and retail meat operations of other members of the family. It is this mix of activities, he explained, which has kept the fish farm in operation after a virtual collapse of the local pond-fish market.

Sluggish economy

As one of Moses Jumi's nine children, Karl's dedication to agriculture is inherited. Not much has changed since Jumi Sr ran the farm, Karl said, noting, however, that a sluggish economy has forced him to cut production in some areas and reduce herds in others.

Dairy production is significantly down. The milking herd is down to 250 cows because of lower demand for fresh milk but, he said, culling the herd to reduce costs, as many dairy farmers have done, is not an option for him.

"I've learnt from experience that it's too expensive to rebuild. It's better to feed the ones you have and keep them for better times," he said.

Karl explained that he had cut the number of pigs by about half, to 200, in a bid to reduce food and other costs. But faced with increasing demand, Karl has been forced to ramp up production at higher replacement costs. Most pig farmers buy piglets and raise them to market size but, for an operation that breeds the animals and prepares them for the market, replacements are costly. One weaner can cost $7,000 or more, depending on the breed.

Riding out rough times

For the first time in 22 years, Karl said he has had to borrow money to keep going. He has had to cut staff, but is confident that further diversification should better prepare him to get through the rough times.

"In these times, farmers have to diversify if they want to survive," he said.

Pointing to the variety of animals on the farm, he noted that when times get tough, those subsectors that are booming provide the funds to support those that are in decline. With growing demand for pork, he is exploring the introduction of new varieties of pigs to increase production and improve the breeds he currently has. He is also looking to improve and expand both the goat and sheep herds to take advantage of growing markets.

The pay-off from upgrading the sheep at Cherry Gardens, as well as expanding the flock, appears promising, he said. Karl is also looking outside the agricultural sector for investment opportunities that will help to boost the farm's survivability. And despite lucrative offers from myriad land-seeking developers, he and his brothers are not tempted.

Karl is the first to admit that the current climate in the agricultural sector makes it difficult for farmers to envision a secure future. For the moment, however, despite the many challenges, the second-generation farmer is enjoying his life and his farm.