CLAREMONT, St. Ann
PEPPER FARMERS in Walkers-wood, St. Ann should, as of next year, be taught new and better ways to grow their main vegetable for export.
Johnny McFarlane, director of group development of Walkers-wood Caribbean Foods, announ-ced the plan last Thursday at a food seminar on "Environmental Friendly Agricultural Practises," held at Walkerswood Methodist Church.
He told farmers that Robin Crum Ewing, general manager of Green Castle Estate, will be working closely with them to export pepper.
Mr. McFarlane said Walkers-wood Caribbean Foods had been working with Green Castle Estate in St. Mary for the past two years and in January 2001, he plans to arrange to have several St. Ann pepper farmers visit Green Castle to observe how they grow pepper there.
He praised Green Castle for allowing his company to have peppers in the winter. "We need year-round supply in Walkers-wood, our sales are going up by more than 30 per cent per year," he said.
Dionne Clarke-Harris, entomologist and head of the Integrated Pest Management Section at the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), told the farmers that to increase yield they should use pesticides rationally to keep pest damage below economic level.
