George Henry, Gleaner Writer
Derrick Hamilton sprays a field of carrots on his farm in Potsdom district, Rose Hall, south St. Elizabeth. He has been a farmer for over 20 years. - PHOTO BY GEORGE HENRY
SPALDINGS, Clarendon:
DERRICK HAMILTON is just 33, but he has been tilling the soil for over 20 years on his five-acre farm in Rose Hall, south St. Elizabeth.
He plants a variety of crops, including carrot, scallion, thyme, tomato, cabbage, cauliflower, broccoli, among other vegetables.
Farming has been his only source of income. In fact, he has no other skills, not even in agriculture, but he has been able to achieve some success so far. He noted that there was plenty of idle land around him and so he decided to start tilling the soil.
STARTED ON 'WOODLAND'
He told Farmers Weekly that he started out planting crops on one acre of what he described as woodland. The first crop he tried his hands at was cabbage. "The cabbage was so attractive that I used to just sit and look at it sometimes. It was so pretty that I just looked at it and wondered if it was I who planted them," Mr. Hamilton stated with glee. This, he said, encouraged him to increase production.
Farming, he said, was not much more difficult for him now than 20 years ago when he started. Mr. Hamilton noted that his only problem had been to start over when disasters strike. The recent heavy showers also wreaked havoc on the young farmer's crops of vegetables. He said the damage from the rains had now left him in the 'red'. This is in addition to the $60,000 he lost during the heavy rains associated with hurricanes Dennis and Emily in July.
However, despite the challenges, Mr. Hamilton said he was not discouraged and said he intended to stay in farming, as that was the only thing he knew best.
