'What else to do?'
Published:Saturday | May 21, 2011 | 12:00 AM
Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer
GENUS, St Elizabeth:A VISIT to the community of Genus in South St Elizabeth at 10:30 on Tuesday morning finds a group of young farmers relaxing in the shade of a tree, having already returned from their fields.
That they have nothing else planned for the rest of the day, is a measure of the economic decline in this rural community over the past two years. They are not optimistic things will get better anytime soon.
Glenville Witter, a farmer laments that he recently lost two crops of cauliflower, at a time when the price was good, because he could not afford the water in the final stage of the crop.
"If you have a money fi buy water, but how long you can keep up that? When God fall the rain, but if a Government fi get the water we no get any here," Witter says.
He is not impressed with the recent farmers market initiative promoted by the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries, charging that the cost to transport the crops to Black River would not make economic sense given the low price.
"Farmers nuh supposed to go market go sell. Farmers supposed to stay here, and we have people come buy the produce from us, but that not happening and them come buy it $5 a pound. That can't work."
expensive chemical
With nothing else to do, Winston has gone back into farming, despite spending $15,000 to plant tomatoes and selling only $900 worth of produce. "When the crop come in, it sells for $5 a pound, $900 me make outa the whole garden, $900! No buyer so them stay and rotten," he says, laughing at the memory of his misfortune.
"When you buy a bag a fertiliser fi $4,000-odd, the chemical expensive more than the fertiliser, how could you make money outa that?" asks Witter, putting the issue into perspective.
"Like how we do the little farming now would like a little help with fertiliser and spray," Gary, another younger farmer appeals. However, he explains that when they are able to earn a little money by doing a day's work to buy a bag of fertiliser, the cost of transportation again renders this effort impractical, since they are unable to buy in bulk which would make it cost effective.
A veteran mason and carpenter, Witter has not done any construction work in two years. Usually, this would have provided the seed money for his farming, but as he looks forward to the fall season things are looking gloomy.
"Me want fertiliser, chemical, everything and me a worry where me ago get it, but one thing me believe in, through me pray to God, God might help me get it, but not man," Witter said.