Two (green) thumbs up for young farmer: Revamping tradition with new technology
While many rural folk are drawn to the alluring big cities and the hustle and bustle of urbanised towns, others, like 29-year-old Nigel Benjamin of Douglas Castle in St Ann, are true sons of the soil.Benjamin operates two of the largest greenhouses in Jamaica and plans for expansion have already got under way.
Greenhouse technology is relatively new to Jamaica. The method involves growing plants and vegetables in a controlled environment in which the farmer is better able to control insect infestation and maximise production.
"I've been farming as far back as I can remember," said Benjamin, giving credit to his father who has been his source of inspiration and a role model in the field of agriculture.
grew up in farming
"I grew up seeing my father doing this and he did not go to college or anything like that and he did very well. So after leaving secondary school, I just took it on and here I am today," he said.
On some 20 acres of farmland, Benjamin cultivates cabbage, carrot, cucumber, lettuce, pak choi, sweet pepper and tomato, making weekly deliveries to various entities such as Burger King, KFC, numerous supermarkets in Kingston and Montego Bay, restaurants, as well as small and large hotels across the island.
"Sometimes, I experience problems with marketing, especially when the outdoor farmers come in and the prices of the various produce drop very low, but I find that the produce from the greenhouse takes preference all the time," he boasted.
A typical day for Benjamin starts as early as 6:00 a.m. when 10 young employees get cracking.
"Sometimes, I employ more workers when there is excess," he said, pointing out that during the months of July, August, November and December there was always a lot to be done because of large orders. But what of supply challenges in greenhouse operations?
rotating greenhouses
"I have two greenhouses and I have them on rotation so when the crop in one house is going down, the other is coming up, so there will always be reaping," said Benjamin with confidence. He was quick to compare the yields on his outdoor farm to that of the greenhouse. Nigel said that he could reap tomatoes from his greenhouse every week for the entire year, which was almost impossible on the outdoor farm.
"I've supplied orders for up to 4,000 pounds of tomatoes per week already. With lettuce, I do up to 5,000 or 6,000 and with cabbage I do up to 3,000 to 4,000 pounds sometimes," he said, adding that he was never out of a market for red and yellow peppers because those were always in demand.
Benjamin was equally open about major losses suffered from the passage of Hurricane Dean last year as he was about his success. Though he was devastated by the $4 million worth of damage, flinty determination gave him greater resolve to continue to develop his farm.
"Yes, it (Hurricane Dean) caused some major setbacks, but the Wednesday after the hurricane I got up and reset some seedlings because I knew that from November to the first week in January they would have matured, so during that time I was able to get some high prices. I didn't recover fully, but I can say that I really had a good bounceback," he said.
He proudly credited farming for all his lifetime achievements and is encouraging other young people to venture into agriculture.
attend training sessions
"I always tell myself that I do not know enough and that is why I try my best to attend the training sessions set up by the Rural Agricultural Development Authority (RADA), so that I can continue to learn of new techniques and pass on my knowledge to my workers, and they too can become knowledgeable and so the farm will run more efficiently and production will be better and greater," he said.
Working on the farm for the past five months, it is employees like Peter, who benefits from this shared knowledge.
"I really didn't know anything about farming before I came here, and now that I'm here, I've been picking up on things like budding and pruning and everything about the greenhouse," he said, adding that one day he would like to start a greenhouse of his own and become as progressive as his boss.
Meanwhile, Nigel's father, Albert Benjamin, said that of his 16 children, it was Nigel who carried on in the field of agriculture.
"He followed in my steps and extended to greenhouse farming. When I started out as a farmer way back in 1972, I did not know anything about greenhouses. I only used irrigation pumps. Now, in this age and time, I get to know about greenhouse and I am proud of my son, Nigel, because he is one of the first to bring it to the area," he said, thanking RADA for its guidance and instructions.
St Ann parish agricultural manager for RADA, Pedro Worghs, also commended Nigel on his accomplishments.
"I am very impressed with Nigel's farm. One can see that he is in an expansion mode and I'm encouraging him to keep accurate farm records because these will enable him to chart his course in the right direction," he said.
From all indications, Benjamin Jr seems to be leaving clear footsteps of encouragement for more young people to follow in the field of agriculture.
This is a special Gleaner feature in collaboration with the Jamaica Information Service.