Technology finds root in potatoes

Christopher Serju, Gleaner Writer

A cross-fertilisation of state-of-the-art technology and the ability of Jamaicans to be inventive - as in 'tun yuh han mek fashion' - is taking root at the Christiana Potato Growers' Cooperative in Manchester.

The cooperative is positioning itself to lead the charge in revitalising Jamaica's farm sector and spearheading this revolution is General Manager Alvin Murray, whose passion for things agricultural is evident from the moment you meet him.

"I have rendered two AC units useless," he says, with a sense of accomplishment. No need to worry, though. What this means is that installation of an evaporator cooler to provide the consistently low temperature so key to effective running of tissue culture has rendered them obsolete, and with good reason.

"From $140,000 a month, the electricity bill has dropped to $58,000 over a six-week period. This (evaporator cooler) is going to revolutionise greenhouse farming and you can get it in Jamaica delivered to you for US$1,200 ... . Fascinating!" he told The Gleaner.

"They are excited about what is happening here," Murray said, referring to the cooperative, whose senior members have been encouraged by the enthusiasm of its younger colleagues.

The teamwork has resulted in an effective blend of youthful exuberance and experience.

Requesting assistance

The cooperative boss has appealed for help from the Jamaica Social Investment Fund and the Inter-American Development Bank to help to develop facilities at Coleyville.

Murray revealed that his fraternity had the infrastructure to house cold storage, tissue culture, packaging and grading, but needed capital to purchase equipment. If that support comes through, he said agro-processing linkage industries would mushroom, with sweet potato products being packaged for export to the United States and European markets.

The general manager said a new vision of producing sweet potato-based products could see Jamaica cutting waste - Murray says 30 per cent of the staple grown locally is trashed - even channelling offerings such as sweet potato drink into the school-feeding programmes.

"All we want is to be given the chance to show what we can do because cooperatives in Jamaica have never been capitalised in a way to make them effective," Murray said.