Geography Field Study

Economic Activity (Agriculture)

What are the problems faced by

farmers in my community and how
they may be solved?

Candidates Name: Darrick Foster

Registration No: 1000050987

Name of School: Ardenne High School

Proficiency: General

Territory: Jamaica

School: Ardenne High School

A Geographical Study of Problems
Faced by Farmers in My
Community

-An examination on farmers near my community and major problems they

face and ways in which they can be improved or solved.
 Purpose of Study
The purpose of the study is to find the problems faced by small scale farmers
in Bellvue, St. Catherine.
 Aim

To investigate the major problems faced by small scale farmers in Bellvue, St

Catherine and to attempt to identify ways in which these problems may be
solved or improved.
 Methodology

When: A field study was done on the 7th of February, 2009

Where: The study was conducted in Bellvue, St. Catherine where numerous
small scaled farms are located. However, the study was done at five different
farms in the area.

How: The study conducted was through interviews with local small-scale
farmers at each of the five stops. Recordings were made of the statements
said and put together. At all stops, separate questionnaires were used. My
own observations of the farms were also made and recorded. Answers to the
questionnaire showed all of the main problems faced by farmers. A field
survey was also conducted to determine the use of the land. Obvious
observations of problems seen were recorded such as pests and poor land
usage.

Lastly, a questionnaire survey was done to give me additional information of

the farms. All the results were represented graphically with the use of charts.
 Presentation of Data
1st Farm

The majority of farmers in Bellvue, St. Catherine were suffering from the

same problems. As investigated from the 1st stop, farmers were

experiencing staff problems. As seen in the first stop, they had an unreliable

work force as out of a staff of 25, only 15 workers were actually present. Not

having a reliable staff leads to inefficiency and overworking of staff. As seen

in Fig.3 below, is the percentage of staff and the times at which they arrive.

Fig.3

This is so, as transportation is a major problem in the area. Due to many

large vehicles constantly transporting goods/ materials, the roads get easily

damaged. Water also encourages large potholes. Most of the roads are

severely damaged and are not paid attention to by government. There is

also a lack of funding in the community and they cannot afford to pay for the
damaged roads. This problem can be solved with the use of putting pressure

on the government to fix the roads by means of striking, public notifications

(means of getting the media’s attraction) or creating a development fund in

the community. A flat fee would be paid every month having money

available to buy the materials needed to fix the road themselves. As seen in

Fig. 4 below is a cross section of a part of the road.

Fig.4

Another problem faced by the farmers was land size. The plots are too small,

and therefore means of growing crops eventually are unprofitable. As certain

crops, must be grown in bulk such as sugar cane, it needs a lot of land for it

to be profitable. Soil exhaustion also played another role reducing higher

yield. Since mechanization is too expensive, crop rotation has to be done

manually. Ways of buying fertilizers for soil will nourish it adding minerals

which tend to be used and reused by crops.

 2nd Farm

At the second stop, it was observed that there was a lack of security on the

premises. The barrier fence was frail, rusty and full of many spaces cut out

by thieves. After speaking to the owner of the farm, he clearly stated that

the main problem he faced was praedial larceny. Praedial larceny is the theft of

agricultural produce or livestock from a farm or estate. Due to the owner’s inability

of staying on the farm known as absenteeism, it becomes an attraction for thieves.

These thieves steal large amounts of produce from the farms to sell and make

money from them in a market.

Employing a number of armed security guards to live on the farm can be a good

way of solving this problem. This will aid in proper surveillance of the compound and

stopping intruders from trespassing.

Another problem faced by this farmer was the lack of finding a suitable and stable

market in which to sell his produce. Also, he states that selling to the ‘middle man’

is unprofitable as they buy the goods at a cheap price but sell the same goods with

a maximum increase of up to 50%.He also had problems with the state of the road

in the area. He also lost a large amount of produce over the past 4 years as

intermittent hurricanes with great gale winds, cause a lot of destruction. As seen in

Fig.5, the owner of this farm has lost a lot of money through goods in the past 3

years.
Fig.5
 Bibliography

1. Mark Wilson, the Caribbean Environment for CXC

Geography, Oxford.

2. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/

3. Longman Caribbean School Atlas, Longman.

4. Farmers