Le sucre à travers le monde →
Copyright © 2006 - 2009 Sucre Ethique
Site réalisé avec SPIP par
A. LE FLOCH
SANDRA Dobson was sure the only career path for her was as a cosmetologist. that was until she discovered how successful she could be as a cane farmer.
Now she proudly tells anyone who needs to know that she has been farming cane for the past 15 years and will not trade it for anything else.
In fact, she said she had no regrets, especially since there are fewer people in sugar cane farming than there are in cosmetology.
"I knew that if I did something different I would gain more, and I have no regrets for making that decision," Dobson said proudly, adding that her vocation assures her of an income and independence.
"I have never worked for anyone because I am self-employed and can dictate my own terms," said the 42-year-old farmer, who looks nothing like the image that easily comes to mind at the mention of the words cane farmer.
Dobson is the proud owner of five acres of cane which she grows specifically for Appleton Estate, a privately owned sugar and rum production company.
"I help with the planting myself and I get labourers to help with the fertilisers and spraying," Dobson explained.
She admits that the introduction of technology is changing the traditional methods of farming, but is quick to point out that the most important tool in a farmer’s bag is love for the job.
Dobson shelved the idea of becoming a beautician after she saw the brisk business her brother and neighbours generated as cane farmers. She asked a lot of questions and before long she started in the business.
Unlike other cane farmers across the island who have been affected by the pending divestment of State-owned sugar factories, cane farmers in St Elizabeth North-East continue to do thriving business.
Appleton Estate has contractors who ensure the cane is cut and trucked to the factory, guaranteeing the farmers a market.
Dobson explained that many farmers would have been busy planting on the day the Sunday Observer visited, were it not for the fact that they were just receiving an annual loan from Appleton to replant.
That loan, of course, is welcomed by the farmers who prefer to grow cane which, according to Dobson, is not greatly affected by praedial larceny.
"I used to plant pumpkin, but it was worse with praedial larceny," she said. "But with the cane they can’t steal it like they do the cash crops."
During the uncertainty of the sugar industry earlier this year, Dobson said a lot of farmers were contemplating going into rice, a crop that was grown in the constituency years ago.
However, the assurance they received from Appleton of a guaranteed market was enough to keep them in sugar.
"A lot of people are worried about job safety, I am not," she said.
Bob Byfield, a resident of Appleton Estate, also knows first-hand the benefits of sugar as he has been employed to Appleton since 1989.
"Is sugar help mi to buy mi car, build mi house and send mi daughter to Hampton High," said the cane yard supervisor.
He said that depending on the position one holds at the factory they can either receive a house or a car as part of their salary package.
Sugar is the mainstay in certain sections of the constituency, especially since Appleton is the major employer for that constituency. Those who are not directly employed to the factory are sugar cane farmers from the many neighbouring communities.
Other people in the Appleton community farm for basic consumption but most rely on the sugar estate for a living.
Those residents of the constituency who relied on bauxite are now trying to get into sugar as bauxite has taken a hit in recent times.
Byfield said he has a lot of friends who are now trying to get into sugar as there is a constant stream of applications coming into the factory.
He said a lot of people used to work at the Western Cement Company, but when that firm closed more than two years ago, hundreds lost their jobs.
Residents in that area had become hopeful after they heard talks of plans to revive the company. However, the plant is still closed.
"It would help a lot of young people who are just here without jobs," explained Byfield.
Other people in the constituency who do not have the benefit of surviving off sugar have sought other means of earning a livelihood with cash crops and livestock rearing being the main means of income.
Lameta Spencer said she has been surviving off poultry for years now and has used it to send her children through school. "The chicken is even easier to rear than other types of farming," she explained.
Thus it was welcoming news to residents like Spencer when their member of parliament, Kern Spencer, spoke of establishing a major chicken-rearing project in the constituency.
Yet others find alternative means of making a living. Gavin Anderson, for instance, who lives in Siloah, operates a taxi from his district to Maggotty. He is, however, concerned that unemployment is extremely high among his peers.
"Nuff young guys sit down and nah work, although some nuh willing fi work and nuff nuh qualify enough fi get work because them can’t even read or write," he said.
For those who would opt to go into farming cash crops, Anderson said they cannot find any market for their produce.
With this level of unemployment, Anderson said a lot of children have not been going to school as their parents cannot afford to send them.
Some persons also cannot afford the basic commodities.
In Windsor, 73-year-old Myra Thomas lives with nine other persons in a two-room house which is on the brink of toppling over.
Fortunately for her she is among four indigents in the constituency for whom the MP has begun to build a new house.
"I am happy fi the new house because ah want electricity," she said, pointing to the house which is too old for electrical wires to be installed.
Her adult daughter, who also lives at the same house along with her daughter and grandchildren, said they have not been able to secure permanent employment. Instead, she said her spouse gets an odd job here and there.
"Them might call him fi do little weeding or fi butcher one pig now and then," added a neighbour.
Thomas said she worked for years in sugar but the income was not enough to secure her future.
The family are hoping they will be among those selected in the chicken rearing project.
Although the consensus throughout the constituency is that the MP "is trying his best" there are others among the 25,000 registered voters who feel there is more he can do to keep the promises he made.
Chief among their concerns are lack of water, bad roads and high unemployment.
Nellie Salkey, a resident of Wallenford, is one such individual who wants to see more happen for her community.
Salkey, who plants pineapples, said she can get no market for the fruits.
Other residents of Wallenford told the Sunday Observer that they need to have their road repaired as it is difficult to get transportation to take them home.
They said they want to see more income-generating opportunities and skills training as farming cannot be the only answer, especially since farmers are not earning a decent living from the trade.
"We not getting the right price for our things and we can’t even hold out for prices," Salkey said.
The residents said they also want to see their MP to voice their concerns.
"We don’t really see him because him don’t come to this side of the constituency," explained Evadney Stewart.
Dairy used to be another mainstay of the constituency, but even that has taken a battering.
Kingsley Morris was once a thriving dairy farmer operating on 36 acres of land in the Cabbage Valley community. Today, he has to watch his farm land sit idle as there are only four of 11 dairy farmers still operating.
Morris explained that each farmer had received 23 cows and 36 acres of land in the late 1970s. Over time, they purchased the land, but to date they are yet to receive the title.
Competition from imported milk products, along with other factors, have driven all of them out of the industry.
Morris, who is now the proprietor of Mr King’s Natural Juice, said the dairy farmers are willing to return if they can get much-needed funding to revive the industry.
Since they have no title for their lands he said it is even harder for them to get loans to start on their own.
"Some farmers died without ever holding their titles in their hand," Morris said.
"What is required now for us is a stable market," Morris said, adding that the lack of market drove him out of the industry.
He said a few of the farmers have been utilising portions of their land for sugar cane production. However, they long to return to dairy.
He said the resuscitation of the industry would provide employment to many of the unemployed youths in the constituency of over 40,000 residents.