Farming a family tradition for three rural women

Ninety-eight-year-old Pearlina Cunningham, her sister, 89-year-old Francis Brown and her daughter, 79-year-old Hazelyn Nesbeth, have been contributing to Jamaica's food security and the local economy for multiple decades.

Their longevity is proof that farming is more than just a job, it's a lifelong commitment and a way of life that does not have a set retirement age. Cunningham, who resides in Logwood, Hanover, told JIS News that she followed in the footsteps of her parents.

"I am farming from [I was] around 12 years old, because I usually go to the farm with my mother. I started farming from there and I never stopped," she said proudly. The family matriarch relates that, in her heyday, she supplied major hotels like Hedonism and Grand Lido in Negril with crops such as plantain, banana, cabbage and tomato. She also grew sugar cane, which was sold to factories for processing into sugar and other by-products.

The mother of 13 emphasises that farming allowed her to care for her children and maintain her independence after her husband passed. While she is no longer able to undertake farming on a large scale, the 98-year-old continues to rear broiler chickens to maintain her independence. Brown, however, continues the family business, cultivating crops such as onion, cabbage, sweet potatoes and callaloo. Nesbeth shares that agricultural work has helped her to remain fit and healthy as she ages.

"When I sit down one place, sometimes when I get up, it's [a lot of] pain, but when you move about, exercise, it helps you so much," she said. The 79-year-old emphasised that farming is an important part of the economy, as she urges young people not to overlook opportunities in agriculture.

"I believe one of the best professions in life is farming because none of us can live without food ... teachers and farmers ... oh, [they are] awesome. They provide education and food for the nation," she said.

Nesbeth, who is mother to four children, noted that her daughter is also keen on continuing the family legacy in farming.

"There are a lot of young women who do not like their hands to touch the soil, but I would tell anyone that farming makes you independent. Leaving your home, going to the farm, you can come back with something to sell, [and that's] even better than you going out to seek an employment," she said. Cunningham also insisted that farming is just as lucrative as other fields.

"If you farm in Jamaica, you can achieve as much money as going to a foreign country," Cunningham said.

Jamaica Network of Rural Women Producers President (JNRWP), Tamisha Lee, said that Cunningham and her family are "the living, breathing blueprints of national food security".

"They demonstrate that the foundation of our nation's resilience is built on the sweat equity and unbreakable spirit of the rural woman. They have fed their families, they have educated their children, and they continue to feed Jamaica," she said. Lee said that the women's longevity in farming is proof that investment in rural women is the most reliable investment that stakeholders can make in their future.

As the nation observed International Day of Rural Women on Wednesday, the JNRWP hailed rural women as the backbone of Jamaica's food system and the front line against the climate crisis.