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Institutional Affiliation: International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences
Region/Locale: Carribean
References:
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, SHARING INNOVATIVE EXPERIENCES, Volume 9
http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol9/content9new.asp
Published in partnership with:
Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO)
The Academy of Sciences for The Developing World (TWAS)
Website: http://tcdc.undp.org/sie/experiences/vol9/Jamaica_v9_54-59.pdf
Description:
The economy of Jamaica, the third largest island in the Caribbean, is based on agriculture, aluminium and bauxite exports, tourism, light manufacturing and financial services. Although the climate is generally tropical and humid, the area to the south of the highlands that cross the island from east to west has lower rainfall than the area to the north and this has significant consequences for the types of agriculture practised in the two areas.
The southeastern section of the parish of St. Elizabeth is home to some 150,000 inhabitants and covers over 1,200 square kilometres of the semi-arid zone of southwestern Jamaica. As with the rest of the country, St. Elizabeth has two periods of high rainfall—from April to June and from September to October—which alternate with the long (November to March) and short (July to August) dry periods. Local soils tend to drain very quickly and are therefore susceptible to drought and erosion, so the regular rains do not provide enough soil moisture for crop production to be practised throughout the year. Additional water, therefore, must be supplied from rainwater storage and from sources outside the area. In recent years, this situation has been exacerbated by the late or non-arrival of the spring rains and the reduced frequency of the autumn ones, which has had a detrimental effect on crops, livestock and infrastructure. Despite these difficulties, farmers in the St. Elizabeth area have developed profitable and sustainable agricultural practices.
Over the years, with the help of extension experts from the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the Jamaica Agricultural Society (JAS) and private companies, the St. Elizabeth farmers have developed an agricultural system that copes with the region's semi-arid conditions. The main products of this system are cash crops such as vegetables, condiments and root crops. Tree crops such as mango, ackee (Jamaica's national fruit), sweetsop (a kind of custard or sugar apple) and cashew are grown on the edges of fields and in other suitable areas but, although they may provide someadditional income, they are regarded as minor crops.
Contact Information:
Vincent Campbell (research fellow, 1999-2000) and Gerald C. Lalor
International Centre for Environmental and Nuclear Sciences
University of the West Indies
Kingston 7, Jamaica
Tel: (+876) 927 0441
Fax: (+876) 977 0326
E-mail: glalor@uwimona.edu.jm, devin@cybervale.com, icens@uwimona.edu.jm
This Solution is classified within these Core Themes:
Biodiversity and Ecosystem Management
Integrative methods for place-based analysis
Latin America and the Caribbean
Regional (Subnational)
Agriculture
This Solution is directly associated with the following:
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PUBLICATIONS
Selections from Sharing Innovative Experiences (2005)
UNDP Special Unit for South-South Cooperation, The Academy of Sciences for the Developing World (TWAS), The Third World Network of Scientific Organizations (TWNSO), The Global Environmental Facility (GEF)
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