Hugh Martin
THE MONTH of May has come and gone leaving behind only a hint of what used to be called the May rains. It has been a long drought for many areas and agricultural production will be the worst for it. This is because many of these areas are totally dependent on rainfall to provide the water necessary for a reasonable crop.
It was not always like this. There was a time, not too long ago, when farmers could sow their seeds with the assurance that the rain would come just at the point when the emerging seedlings would need it most. There would also be little need to fertilise as the rain would bring from the atmosphere the nourishing nitrogen that spurs growth and development. No greater evidence of this phenomenon exists than the almost instant greening of a parched-brown lawn or field after a slight shower of rain.
Meanwhile, those farmers who rely solely on rainfall to produce their crops are finding it harder and harder to survive.
BLESSED AREAS
There are some areas however, blessed by a combination of geography and geology, that have managed to not only survive but to prosper in spite of the changed weather patterns. Areas located in the high mountain valleys where daylight temperatures are high but fall rapidly at night resulting in condensation and the production of dew in such large amounts as to keep the soil moist enough to nurture the plants. That is why places like Worthy Park and the surrounding districts in the Lluidas Vale area continue to produce high yields of sugar cane and citrus without the benefit of irrigation. And the same holds true for further up into Kellitts, McNie, Douglas Castle, and even into the Dry Harbour Mountain districts such as Essen Castle, Calderwood and Down Lodge where some of the finest vegetables are grown.
These areas are rivaled only by South St. Elizabeth which had to invent its own 'dry land farming' technology to overcome the harsh conditions caused by lack of rainfall. A Flaggaman farmer once told me that the only time his district got rain was when a hurricane hit or came close to Jamaica. Unfortunately, that same year Hurricane Gilbert gave Flaggaman more rain than it could handle.
South St. Elizabeth has become world famous for its innovation which includes the use of mulch and a crude form of drip irrigation. Water for this is trucked in and kept in tanks which are seldom ever replenished by rain. But now the area is about to be the beneficiary of an irrigation system which has been made possible by the establishment of wells. It seems water had been there all along and the authorities are only now able to find the funds to make it a little easier on the farmers.
GOOD OR BAD VIEWS
There are some who feel that the abundance of water may not improve the farmers' productivity but could lead instead to complacency. I don't subscribe to this view as my knowledge of some of these farmers leads me to believe that they will make even more efficient use of a commodity that they have come to value so highly.
For the rest of the country that have to rely on rainfall as no river runs through your neck of the woods and the underground water resources are not adequate to establish wells, we hope the hurricane season which is here already will be kind to you and not wash away your crops or drown your livestock. We hope too that the irrigation schemes being promised by the Ministry of Agriculture and Land will reach you soon because rain-fed agriculture has no place in the twenty-first century.
Hugh Martin is a communication consultant and farm broadcaster. He may be contacted at humar@cwjamaica.com
