By George Henry, Gleaner Writer 
Veronica Jackson puts scallion on display for sale. - George Henry Photo
SPALDINGS, Clarendon:
ONCE A city woman, Veronica Jackson has mastered the art of farming and is now a producer of scallion, onion, Irish potato and vegetables in the 'Breadbasket Parish', St. Elizabeth.
Ms. Jackson, who hails from Kingston, carries out her farming on two acres of land in New Building, near Alpart.
But, like any other other farmer, the mother of four has had to face the challenges with high input and labour costs. She explained that there have been instances when she has lost crops and had to start over. Nevertheless, she has made up her mind to continue farming for as long as possible.
"The little that I have done in farming has helped me to acquire a lot, including financing my children's education and even working on the building where I live. So, although it is said that farming is a man's work, as a woman farmer I can still do what the men do in agriculture," said Ms. Jackson beaming with pride.
Being a single mother, Ms. Jackson admitted that the workload sometimes becomes too much for her. However, she said she occasionally employs workers to assist her and when she is unable to do this, she would go to other farms to work in return for assistance on her farm.
She told Farmers Weekly that she was only 'trying a thing' when she ventured into farming, but got to like it afterwards, especially when a meal is prepared for her family out of her own efforts.
Ms. Jackson said she would encourage other women to go into farming as this was a good way to provide food for their families. She argued that more people would go into agriculture if what she termed the 'deterrents' were addressed. She is advocating for subsidies to be placed on important chemicals, such as fertilisers.
