Farmer chooses woman power to drive productivity
While some women spend their Saturdays in church or doing some leisure activities, Valrie Thompson can be found on the farm.
When the news team caught up with the 53-year-old on Benneth’s Farm in York Street, St Catherine, recently, she was busy toting several bags laden with cassava.
“Is years a started to work here on the farm and I don’t mind doing it as I feel independent spending my own money. To be honest, sometimes it ( the work) is very difficult, but it have to be done,” Thompson said. The mother of three revealed that removing the cassava forms part of her daily duties as she doesn’t limit herself.
Meanwhile, her employer, Vynard Benneth, added that Thompson is an asset to the farm and that hat she is one of five women employed ployed to ensure that productivity ctivity continues.
“On this farm I planted nted about four acres of cassava. ava. This is sold to higglers and nd a factory in Twickenham m Park. But we plant other er crops such as sweet et potato, sorrel, pumpkin n and sugar cane. But a mostly females I use e here. I find that them m work hard and one of the e reliable workers is Valrie,” ” Benneth said. A typical l work day starts at 6 a. m. .
“We are here today to fill an order for a customer, r, so that is why Valrie is here working. orking. Farming is a difficult work, k, but it is what I have been doing g from age 17. S So at 56 years old I can cannot depart from it,” Ben Benneth said.
He said that while he got technical training from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, he got hooked on farming after he sold his first ton of sugar a as a teenager.
“I “I don’t remember the pric price I received, but it ( farm farming) started after I got t three squares of land fro from my father, as he didn’t did have much. I planted some cane, reap it and sold it to a truck. It was a great feeling to earn a little cash. I don’t look ba back since,” he said. Mean Meanwhile, Thompson said tha that despite the dirt and grime grim which comes with tilling the th soil, she has no intention of s stopping.
“The Gov Government just need to empow empower the youth and females with w training and exposure t to funding to help agriculture g grow. We still import too much,” B Benneth said.
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