Red pepper in hot demand
Published:Thursday | August 5, 2010 | 12:00 AM
Rasbert Turner, Gleaner Writer
The great demand for West Indian red pepper has led Claren-don farmer Michael Folkes to invest heavily in its cultivation.
Folkes, the son of a farmer, is currently growing several acres of the highly sought-after pepper variety.
He said he supplies local processors as well as the overseas market.
"The demand is more than the supply," Folkes noted.
A graduate of the Elim School of Agriculture, the Rhymesbury-based farmer said he decided to start planting a few years ago on a larger scale and with a partner, after becoming unemployed.
Viable option
"While working with a supermarket chain and studying the market, the confirmation came to me, farming is a viable option," Folkes said.
After being laid off three years ago, he simply returned to till the soil on a full-time basis.
Currently, he employs an average of 25 people from the community to work the 5.2 acres of land. They reap and prepare the area for planting.
"We reap an average of 2,500 pounds weekly. It is a good crop to grow, plus, this variety is a hardy type that can be harvested within four weeks," he said.
"It is hard work to pick the pepper, but it helps to provide for my family," Ann Nicholson said while lifting bags of freshly picked peppers.
Folkes said that, while he farms peppers, he also rears sheep and other ruminants to supply the local market.
"Farming is alive and well and I am heartened by the new thrust, to grow what we consume. It feels good," Folkes said with a smile.