ABOUT 30,000 farmers have benefited from a Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI)-initiated programme to grow cash crops on reclaimed bauxite lands. Since 1996, the JBI has provided 700,000 seedlings to farmers under its programme to boost agricultural production on mined-out lands.
"The JBI, as a matter of policy, is directly facilitating programmes to get more farmers actively involved in producing crops on mined-out bauxite lands, while at the same time forging special marketing arrangements for crops grown under the programme," explained head of the JBI Lands Division, Dianne Gordon.
In the early days it was thought that mined-out bauxite lands were suitable mainly for livestock rearing, primarily dairy farming, and a limited range of crops. But research conducted by the JBI has proven that a number of crops can be profitably grown on these lands. Agronomist, Dr. Hugh Lambert, has been the JBI's point man in all this research and liaison with the farmers
and he is excited about the results of the programme, which began in 2002.
In an interview with JIS News, he said that the results have shown that yields for certain crops on the mined-out lands have actually exceeded the national average. This has been the case, for example, with tomato, cucumber, sweet pepper and scotch bonnet pepper.
The JBI has established experimental plots of cassava, sweet potato, string bean, tomato, scotch bonnet pepper, sweet pepper, peanut, pineapple, cabbage, cauliflower, on lands in Schwallenburgh, Hyde Park and Skipton in St. Ann and at Belmont and Mocho in Clarendon.
About 30 per cent of Alpart's and more than 50 per cent of Windalco's mined-out lands are leased to small farmers. On these lands, peanut, peppermint, cucumber and orchard crops have done very well. Some of these crops are also producing much better yields than the national average.
The JBI has a project with Windalco in St. Ann involving 40 acres of land under commercial pepper production at Union Hill, Rio Hoe, Riverhead, Bromley, Islington and Crawl. To date, over 98 farmers have been provided with seedlings, other inputs and irrigation.
HELP IN FINDING MARKET FOR PRODUCE
The JBI has gone further than helping these farmers with production. The agency has also worked out a marketing arrangement with Walkerswood Caribbean Foods to take the farmers' produce.
Managing Director of Walkerswood, Woodrow Mitchell, hails the JBI project with the farmers as, "an excellent concept which has great potential". He says one farmer alone produces 40,000 pounds of calaloo and 60,000 pounds of tomato on one acre of land. He notes, however, that efficiency could be enhanced if the farmers were not so scattered. "Irrigation is a challenge, so having one contiguous piece of land where the farmers are centralised would be better," Mr. Mitchell said.
