Farmer laments difficulty securing workers

A St Elizabeth farmer is lamenting the challenges of securing the services of qualified and committed farm workers.

Derick Duggan says he has for a long time been seeking workers to operate his 120 acre farm.

Duggan, who has been living between the United States and Jamaica since 2007, says his Duggan Hill farm is ripe for production given its proximity to several water sources.

However, he says while he is able to maintain production for six months out of the year, he is unable to ensure continuity for the next six months.

He says this is because most farmers in St Elizabeth are cultivating their own crops, while others are only willing to work when they are broke.

He says he’s at a loss in relation to the difficulty securing workers given that labourers leave Jamaica to go overseas to work, sometimes for meagre wages.