“This is like they are giving us gold’

Some 200 farmers who operate on lands leased from the Sugar Company of Jamaica ( SCJ) in Trelawny, may now breathe a sigh of relief at news that their water woes will be a thing of the past.

Nigel Myrie, secretary manager of the All Island Cane Farmers of Jamaica (AICFJ) which manages the lease working with the National Irrigation Commission (NIC), says that a well has been commissioned in Clark’s Town to make water available to the farmers.

“It’s been a long time coming but we are finally there. We have had clearance from Water Resources Authority (WRA) and everything is in place to satisfy a need the farmers were all looking to have satisfied.”

Clive Bennett, a cattle farmer on the land, welcomes the well facility.

“This is like they are giving us gold. Water, they say, is life and this here is life to my cows. It is so near to all of us and I expect it to be very inexpensive,” Bennett said.

Another lessee, Farmer Robby who produces sweet potato alongside other crops, shared his joy.

“From I heard about it I started to collect drums to store water.”

His suggestion of the provision of a water truck to further reduce the cost to the farmers was met with further good news.

Myrie said:” We have a water truck on order and it should be here on the island early in 2023.”

Latoya Parkinson, one of the few female farmers operating on the lands, says the water provision gives hope to her plans to expand her farm. “I can now look forward to a diversification of my crops. I have always wanted to plant short-term crops. The need for water had me holding back. Now I can plant crops that mature in six weeks,” she said.

The lands are the former Long Pond Sugar Estate which was used to produce cane while the factory was in operation.