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Jamaica
Farmers Switch to Pineapples that Withstand Hurricane Winds
and Rains
The following is reprinted from Frontlines,
December 2005 issue.
MONTEGO BAY, Jamaica—Pineapples are growing big and healthy
for the first time on Silas Coley’s land in Westmoreland,
about an hour’s drive from this tourist haven.
Coley began planting the iconic tropical fruit earlier this
year after joining the USAID-funded Ridge to Reef Watershed
Project, which works with farmers in the western part of Jamaica
where 90 percent of the island’s pineapples are grown.
Pineapple, because of its root structure, is a crop that
reduces erosion. It is also resistant to bad weather because
of its low height, and is highly sought after by hotels, supermarkets,
and airlines.
 USAID
is now helping farmers to plant pineapples because they are
more resistant to hurricanes, which destroy papaya, banana,
and other typical local crops.
Coley is one of five farmers who have offered a chunk of
their land as a pineapple growing-demonstration site. Some
81 farmers come twice a week to see how various types of pineapples—such
as “sugarloaf,” “cowboy,” and “cheese”—are grown here on a
hill with a 35 degree slope. Two rows of plants are grown
six feet apart in raised beds. In a few years, they will be
replanted so the soil does not degrade.
“Before, we had people planting pineapples all over the
place,” said Sadie Dixon of Jamaica’s Rural Agricultural Development
Authority (RADA), which is implementing the project. “They
were so thick you couldn’t pick them, and because there were
so many, they were growing small. The market started to complain.
The fruits were too small and they weren’t sweet.”
That has changed after the new planting, irrigation, and
fertilization techniques the Ridge to Reef Watershed Project
brought in. The fruit is now bigger, sweeter, and demand is
growing.
“I had 60 acres of papayas, but after the hurricane I’m
moving to pineapples,” Coley said. “Now we’re looking to hire
people from the agriculture schools to help around.”
Production from this pineapple harvest is expected to be
100 percent higher than before the hurricane. A new variety,
“smooth cayenne,” will be reintroduced, further developing
the local market for the fruit.
“Marketing to hotels is projected to double because of the
increased yield and quality of fruits, safeguarding the farmers’
sustainable livelihoods,” said Yolanda Hill, project manager
with USAID. “And because of environmentally safe farming practices,
the integrity of the watershed area is being preserved.”
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