'Fruitification' can help our watersheds

Claudia Gardner, Assignment Coordinator

WESTERN BUREAU:

Vice-president of academic programmes at the College of Agriculture, Science and Education (CASE) in Portland, Major Johnathan Lamey, says the country's watersheds would flourish if a national "fruitification" of these areas is undertaken by the relevant environmental agencies.

"Fruit trees is the best way to go; it is an absolute solution to watershed depletion and it is something that should be pursued. People will respect the fruit trees - no matter what kind of fruit trees. But timber and others, they will cut when immature and use for charcoal. It is less likely they will use the fruit trees for charcoal, so there would be more protection for our watershed," Lamey told The Gleaner.

"It is sustainable because the average life of a fruit tree is 30 to 50 years, and once you plant them, all you have to do is to maintain what you have. It is food for the birds and food for the bees. The bees will also help to pollinate and to propagate them; the birds will eat some of the fruits and will spread the seeds," he added.

Lamey also cited as an example a breadfruit-planting project undertaken by CASE with support from the Environmental Foundation of Jamaica in several of the island's watersheds.

"CASE, in collaboration with the Northern Caribbean University, planted thousands of breadfruits in the Swift River Valley, Spring Gardens, along the Spanish River Course in Portland, at Orange River in St Mary, and Montpelier, St James, some three years ago. Nobody has cut these trees. It is 'bread' on the trees; we are using those as part of the food security and germ plasm bank of this country," he explained.

JA AS ONE BIG ORCHARD

Vice-president of the Clifton/Mount Pace Farmers Group in Hanover, Ray Kerr, said he has long dreamt of a programme of this nature, which he said could help to prevent the denuding of forests within his community as well as other sections of the parish.

"It has been a long time I have theorised that Jamaica can be one big orchard. Notwithstanding the problem with the watershed area, but because of the amount of exotic fruits we have and the type of terrain we have … not only for local consumption, but also for export.

"They (lumberjacks) don't really prey on fruit trees, so fruit trees would be a good alternative. Breadfruit trees would be a good substitute for lumber in the watershed areas because it is a plant that thrives in wet conditions. Jackfruit will also thrive because those plants require a lot of water content. And people could sell breadfruit instead of cutting down a tree," Kerr said.