( L - R ) Crum Ewing, Logan, Rowan-Campbell

Petrina Francis, Staff Reporter

Robin Crum Ewing, a member of the Jamaica Organic Agriculture Movement (JOAM) board of directors, says Jamaica needs to get more organic farms certified if the country is to infiltrate the export market in a meaningful way.

Organic farming is a form of agriculture which avoids, or largely excludes the use of synthetic fertilisers and pesticides, plant-growth regulators, and livestock feed additives.

Accessing export markets

"There is the importance of getting more certified farms no matter what size because, unless you can get that acreage on the ground producing products, while there is the local market, we won't really be able to access in any meaningful way the export market," Mr. Crum Ewing said yesterday. He was speaking at a Gleaner Editors' Forum at the newspaper's North Street, Kingston, head offices.

"We must get volume," said Mr. Crum Ewing, who owns an organic farm. "The international markets are crying out for products. We have some products which are particularly interesting to them."

He noted that there is a high demand for cocoa and pimento. "(But) until we can have enough acreage that is certified that we can fill at least a 20-foot container for shipment, we are dealing with a very small niche market which doesn't allow our own farmers to think of expansion," he said.

Jamaica currently has 376 hectares of land with at least four certified farms - three international and one local.

Tracy-Ann Logan, another member of the board of directors at the JOAM, says most persons are not into organic farming because of the misconceptions they have about the holistic type of farming.

"They believe that they will lose their crops due to poor fertility and they will not have high yields because they think their crops will be eaten up by insects because pesticides are not used," she told The Gleaner.

Organic farmer Dorienne Rowan-Campbell says the high cost of international organic certification could also be a contributing factor.

"I have a small farm. I'm probably certifying a little over two acres (of land) and it is costing me US$450 (J$32,000) a year, plus the cost of time and travel for the inspector," said Mrs. Rowan-Campbell.

Local certification costs about J$18,000 and JOAM, in most cases, provides free inspections for farmers.

"It is expensive, but it is something that is of critical importance or we can't look to get a share of any of the markets," said Mrs. Rowan-Campbell.

petrina.francis@gleanerjm.com