Changing Landscape
Despite being called the breadbasket parish of Jamaica, farm plots of South St. Elizabeth are small and farmers, referred to as small farmers; continue to practice traditional farming methods.
This area is known for its vast supply of short crop vegetables, tomatoes, and watermelons, referred to as “catch crops”, lasting six to twelve weeks.
The prominence of this area for farming may be due to its red Terra rossa clay soil that is known to drain well after rain and is said to be very fertile.
Most lands used for farming are not owned but based on goodwill, or lease agreement. Unoccupied public lands are sometimes utilized for farming. These arrangements seem to be favorable since it is an effective way of keeping lands clear of wild weeds. Such arrangements do have their drawbacks as will be seen later, but first let us look at some farming practices.
Guinea grass (panic grass) is harvested and left to dry.
Lands are first cleared and soil ploughed. Ploughing is skipped where there is too much rock for this process to take place.
To retain moisture in the soil it is covered with dried guinea grass.
Many farmers install drip irrigation system using large water drums connected to a network of small porous hose. Seeds are allowed to germinate outside the garden and later transplanted alongside the hose.
However things may change suddenly. Where vibrant farm activity once was may suddenly start shaping up to be a road network.
In this case, this Albizia lebbeck tree that once provided shade for a zinc farm hut,
now stands as a landmark at the edge of a roundabout.
The once cultivated space
is now a roadway divided by a median plant box of a progressive road network construction project.
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