The parish of St. John is blessed with an abundance of rainfall and a fertility of soil that makes it one of the most productive agricultural areas of Barbados. For centuries it has produced an abundance of food crops and sugar cane to feed us and produce wealth for the island through the export of sugar and molasses. It is a parish that I have come to love with its rolling hills and lush valleys on the high plateau where I went to school and where I have lived for the past four decades. Its people are hard working and have a sense of community that is uplifting.
As the seasons come and go, it is a delight to observe the planting and growth of sugar cane and the rotation of crops as farmers adjust to the changing weather patterns, crop infestations and consumer demand to maximize their return from the soil. The owners of small farms and large landholdings all wrestle with crop theft and crop disease as well as the theft of livestock. They deal with drought and flood and in the crop time with the threat of cane fires.
Through all this they remain undaunted, toiling to make a living for themselves and their families. As they do so they bring to bear a remarkable set of skills and ingenuity to improve the husbandry of the land. Water conservations systems and irrigation mitigate the periods of drought, specially designed enclosed areas prevent infestations of bungee top for paw paws and white fly for tomatoes and as each problem is encountered their indomitable spirit devises a solution.
This year however, it seems as though things in St. John are different. Large tracts of land are lying fallow and the vines are strangling the new shoots of sugar cane that were emerging from the ground. The is much evidence of a lack of fertilizer and a proliferation of weeds as cultivated lands from Clifton Hall to Pool, Henley and Todds become overgrown. Hothersal, Wakefield, Bowmanston and Lemon Arbor show similar signs of distress as thousands of acres of prime agricultural land seem to lie abandoned and unproductive as weeds and vines run riot.
All of these once beautiful plantations are owned by Clico or its subsidiaries. One can only assume that their abandonment is a direct result of the collapse of Clico. In the best of times it would be unconscionable to allow this prime area of farm land to remain unproductive. Given our present economic straights and the growing unemployment on the island we should make every effort to return the Clico plantations to their former level of productivity.
Given the rate of their decline and the rapid march of reforestation that is taking place quick action needs to be taken as the cost of cultivating the land is rapidly growing with each passing day. The collapse of Clico should not be allowed to wreck such a large part of our national heritage that is so important to our sustainable development.
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