Adrian Frater, News Editor
Left: The old banana boxing plant at Kensington in St. James. Right: Ripe bananas on sale in the Charles Gordon Market, Montego Bay, St. James. - PHOTOS BY ADRIAN FRATER
WESTERN BUREAU:
DURING THE booming years when the island produced over 100,000 tonnes of bananas, the industry employed between five and 10 per cent of the labour force in Jamaica, mostly in the parishes of St. Thomas, Portland and St. Mary, where soil type and weather patterns provide a favourable environment for banana production.
However, with the decline of the industry over the years, the employment numbers have dwindled. Banana production has decreased from an all-time high of 136,000 tonnes in 1970 to about 40,000 tonnes now.
In western Jamaica, where the banana boxing plants in Trelawny and St. James have since closed, several disastrous hurricanes have done significant damage, and the outbreak of the dreaded Black Sigatoka disease threatened to wipe out banana plantations, the decline has been more far-reaching.
"Twenty years ago, banana was the life blood of communities like Freeman's Hall," said south Trelawny farmer Lincoln Reid, who has since ceased cultivating bananas. "In the 70s, we use to have a thriving banana industry, and between the boxing plant, which has now been closed, and the farm, some of which no longer exist, there was employment for every willing hands."
SUBSTANTIAL JOB LOSSES
While there are no specific figures as to how many jobs has been loss in the banana sector since the 1970s, noted agriculturist, Marjorie Stair, said the figure could be substantial, especially in western Jamaica where lands, which once flourished with banana cultivations are now idle.
"In areas like Freeman's Hall, vast acreage of former banana lands are now idle and some gone back to being natural forest," noted Mrs. Stair. "I suspect that some of the former banana workers have been absorbed into other areas such as the construction, tourism and the transport sector."
Dr. Marshall Hall, the managing director of the Jamaica Producers Group, said the banana sector has between 400-500 farmers in the small export sector and another 10,000 (workers) between truck drivers, persons employed in banana chips factories and those employed on the farms.
"Farmers are always coming in and out of the sector, so I would put the number of small farmers at between 400-500," said Dr. Hall. "However, in terms of the number of jobs directly connected to the sector, I think 10,000 would be a reasonable figure."
NEW OPPORTUNITIES
Though new opportunities for expansion have been created in the hotel sector and the snack food market, especially with the new Maroon Pride Factory that produces banana chips in southern St. James, farmer James Thomas still believes the shut-down of the banana boxing plant in Kensington and the switch from banana export has led to increased hardship.
"In years when we had the boxing plant, jobs were plentiful," lamented Mr. James. "Today, all I can see are idle young boys roaming the community rubbing ganja spliffs in the middle of their hands. Idle hands are everywhere."
SCOURGE OF CRIME
In Freeman's Hall, one of the communities where one of two boxing plants were located, the community has become desolate and the prosperity that once existed is replaced by the scourge of crime. The area has now been black-listed by the Trelawny police high command because of its penchant for gun violence.
"When we had our banana industry, Freeman's Hall was a God-fearing community with hardworking people," said a seemingly frustrated Mr. Reid. "We used to be thriving, but all that has been replaced by hardship."
NEED FOR RIPE BANANAS
But despite the decline in banana production in the west, Glendon Harris, president of the St. James Branch Society, an affiliate of the Jamaica Agricultural Society, said the region's banana still has a secure future, especially in the hotel sector, where there is a regular need for ripe bananas and in the snack industry, where there is a strong market for banana chips.
"While the cost to transport banana half-way across the island to the ports in the east for export has caused western farmers to turn their backs on banana export, there is no need to pull out of bananas" Mr. Harris cautioned. "We still have the hotel sector and the snack market to absorb our bananas."
