Utriss Harvey takes her farming seriously

What started as a small farm, has become a lucrative business for Utriss Harvey, after she realised how much money she could make.

"I used to do backyard farming and then I found out that I could take it as a business because sometimes when I did the little patches of things, I realised that I got a certain amount of money from that, and I said, you know what? I'm going to take farming real serious," she said.

And that she did. The former domestic helper then went on to seek training in how to properly manage and operate a farm.

"I've been to the training school with the training officers from the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, so we know how to properly use our chemicals, and our gear, and all of that. It helped so much because if you're doing something and you're not conscious of it, you won't benefit from it. But if you're doing something and you're sure of what you are doing, you know how to tackle and control certain problems and then you will be productive," she said.

That decision paid off in more ways than one. She now operates a profitable farm in Middlesex, St Ann.

She plants Irish potatoes, pumpkin, sweet peppers, cabbage, plantains, dasheen, sweet potatoes, and other cash crops, which she sells to market vendors. She also retails in the market as well.

She is able to hire a total of six permanent workers to tend to her farm. And most importantly, Harvey, who's a single mother, is able to take care of her children.

Solid education

"I can proudly say that I have accumulated a lot of things from farming. I am able to give my daughters a solid education from farming. I have a daughter who will be graduating from CASE (College of Agriculture, Science and Education) in November, and that's all because of farming, and I am able to build a home. I am a proud farmer," she said.

And right next to the pleasure that singing and working in her farm gives her, is the satisfaction she gets from sharing with others what she's learnt over the years.

"People come to me for advice. One farmer told me that he fertilised his sweet potatoes and it's not looking good. And I said to him to use sulphate of ammonia and put it in his spraying, and he came back and said, 'Wow, they are green, and pretty, and springing'. And I feel good, at least I'm doing something," she said.

This has encouraged her to consider seeking further training. "I would never trade farming for anything else. If I had the opportunity, I would go back to agriculture school to upgrade myself; I would like to be an agronomist," she said.

Harvey said she encounters the usual challenges most farmers experience, such as drought. But she said sometimes these challenges are exacerbated because she's a woman. However she finds ways to deal with them.

"It's not harder for a woman, because I have people who work with me, and if I want to do some spraying, I just put whatever I can manage in the pump. I do what I can do" she said.

Her resilience and her expertise in farming have earned her the respect of both men and women.

"The other day this gentleman came to the farm and he was saying: You farm pretty eeh? A the biggest farm mi see and is a woman, yuh cya marry to mi?" she said laughing. "So man look up to yuh, they do respect the female farmers."