St Thomas organic farmers tackle food insecurity, climate change through EU project

Farmers in St Thomas are working together to promote more sustainable farming practices through an agroforestry project that aims to support and facilitate regenerative livelihoods for residents. The Regenerative Organic Agroforestry Programme, implemented by The Source Farm Foundation and Ecovillage, combines elements from organic farming, holistic management, restoration ecology and permaculture. The project first received funding from the European Union (EU) in 2019 and is being executed across 10 farms within the parish in collaboration with the Forestry Department.

It aims to improve the nutritional value of Jamaican diets and create greater food security on the island while also being a viable and lasting solution to repairing damaged forests and farmlands.

The Source Farm Foundation was established in 2005 as a community economic development incubator. It was geared towards improving food security, livelihoods and the quality of life in St Thomas and across Jamaica through organic farming, sustainable agriculture and natural building practices. The regeneration programme forms part of the foundation’s latest efforts to build collaborative partnerships needed to develop innovative agriculture solutions.

Organic Farmer Julie Chin, who also benefited from the programme, said that farmers were provided with different planting materials and seedlings needed to establish more regenerative systems under the project. Chin’s Whitehall Farm also received tanks and irrigation equipment which assisted them during droughts.

“Our farm is about 350 acres, but we only use 50 acres for farming. We have different forest trees and exotic fruit trees, which we intercrop with our vegetables and low-growing shrubs,” said Chin. “As an organic farmer, I try to experiment with what grows naturally in the area and what grows best without the use of chemicals, fertilisers and fungicides, so these donations assist in the expansion of our multi-cropping.”

The regenerative agroforestry model does not use harmful chemicals and pesticides, but instead centres on thoughtful crop planning, reducing labour intensity and physical stress compared to conventional row cropping. As the years pass, there are also increased yields and recovered and healthier soils.

Source Farm Director Nicola Shirley-Phillips said she hopes the 10 participants will become a model for other farms and encourage farmers to take advantage of new farming methods and technology. “The 10 participating farms are demonstration plots that form part of our agroforestry tourism product. Farmers will be able to host visitors that are interested in our work and teach them about sustainable agriculture practices. In essence, the goal is to establish St Thomas as the cleanest parish in terms of organic production,” she shared.

Noting the positive achievements, André Fache, programme officer for the EU delegation to Jamaica, Belize, The Bahamas, Turks and Caicos and the Cayman Islands, lauds The Source Farm Foundation and Ecovillage for its efforts in protecting and preserving the environment.

“We must commend Source Farm for all the work that they have done in promoting sustainable livelihoods. Through this project, they have created new and innovative means of addressing the country’s food insecurity and climate change challenges. As such, we want to encourage them to continue working with local farmers and residents in building resilience within the agriculture and forest sectors,” he said.