Organic Farmer Julie Chin, who also benefited from the programme, said that farmers were provided with different planting materials and seedlings needed to establish more regenerative systems under the project. Chin’s Whitehall Farm also received tanks and irrigation equipment which assisted them during droughts
Farmers in St Thomas are working together to promote more sustainable farming practices through an agroforestry project that aims to support and facilitate regenerative livelihoods for residents. The Regenerative Organic Agroforestry Programme, implemented by The Source Farm Foundation and Ecovillage, combines elements from organic farming, holistic management, restoration ecology and permaculture. The project first received funding from the European Union (EU) in 2019 and is being executed across 10 farms within the parish in collaboration with the Forestry Department.
It aims to improve the nutritional value of Jamaican diets and create greater food security on the island while also being a viable and lasting solution to repairing damaged forests and farmlands.
The Source Farm Foundation was established in 2005 as a community economic development incubator. It was geared towards improving food security, livelihoods and the quality of life in St Thomas and across Jamaica through organic farming, sustainable agriculture and natural building practices. The regeneration programme forms part of the foundation’s latest efforts to build collaborative partnerships needed to develop innovative agriculture solutions.
Organic Farmer Julie Chin, who also benefited from the programme, said that farmers were provided with different planting materials and seedlings needed to establish more regenerative systems under the project. Chin’s Whitehall Farm also received tanks and irrigation equipment which assisted them during droughts.
“Our farm is about 350 acres, but we only use 50 acres for farming. We have different forest trees and exotic fruit trees, which we intercrop with our vegetables and low-growing shrubs,” said Chin. “As an organic farmer, I try to experiment with what grows naturally in the area and what grows best without the use of chemicals, fertilisers and fungicides, so these donations assist in the expansion of our multi-cropping.”
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