Former RADA Parish Manager Establishes Farm Enterprise

Former Manager for the Rural Agricultural Development Authority’s (RADA) St. Thomas Parish Office, Caswell Glover, is enjoying a fruitful retirement, thanks to his investments in a farm enterprise.

Mr. Glover, who owns G-Lovers Orchard in Rozelle, St Thomas, has utilised seven of his eight acres of farmland to grow a variety of fruits, which he harvests, processes, packages and sells.

His products include breadfruit, banana, plantain and cassava chips, breadfruit and banana flour, fruit wines and juices, and dried fruit snacks.

The Pear Tree River resident tells JIS News that the idea to establish a business evolved from his overseas travels during his tenure as a RADA Manager.

While overseas, Mr. Glover observed that operations, like the one he currently owns, were abundant.

“When I returned from countries like Vietnam, every farmer group I happened to meet with, I tried to sell the idea of having value-added production as a type of marketing strategy,” he explains.

Upon retiring in 2013, the trained Agriculturalist followed his own advice and started his business with the help of family members and several workers from the community.

“The response has been awesome. I do quite a bit of festivals, expos and farmers’ markets and at all these public forums, my goods are sold out,” he points out.

One of Mr. Glover’s specialties is the pairing of breadfruit or plantain chips with red herring or saltfish, which is immensely popular in convenience stores, supermarkets, gas stations, and schools in St. Thomas.

“Originally, these were intended as bar snacks, but [they have] taken off beyond the bar. The breadfruit chips, particularly, is popular at Morant Bay High school,” he informs.

Prior to his good fortune as an entrepreneur, Mr. Glover says he, like many other local farmers, experienced several challenges, including vandalism and praedial larceny.

Praedial larceny, defined as the theft of agriculture produce, is estimated to cost Jamaican farmers more than $5 billion annually.

Agriculture and Fisheries Minister, Hon. Pearnel Charles Jr., who spoke at a recent praedial larceny workshop, said “it is, perhaps, the largest challenge that we have in expanding our agriculture sector and bringing in more investments so that we can truly be food secure and have food for all [of] Jamaica and for the region”.

Mr. Glover, through his farm enterprise, has adopted measures to counter the “extremely high” level of praedial larceny he faces and play his part in ensuring food security.

He reaps his crops at different stages of their growth and prepares them for processing before they can be reaped by thieves upon reaching maturity.

Additionally, he grows different varieties of trees, such as the Ma’afala breadfruit, which is fast-growing but noticeably smaller than most crop types in Jamaica.

Because of the tree’s appearance, thieves are not drawn to it, which is fantastic news for Mr. Glover as “the Ma’afala is actually perfect for processing”.

Another tactic the dedicated farmer uses to ensure the viability of his farm enterprise is developing a wide range of products from each fruit and maximising his harvest before vandals or thieves can wreak havoc.

“Take, for example, coconuts… there are a number of products that I get from the single fruit. I do a jelly water, a coconut wine, coconut drops, gizzadas and coconut oil,” he indicates.

Mr. Glover says that the same principle is applied to many of the other fruits he cultivates, such as plantain and banana.

“If I was depending on the sale of fresh produce to higglers and exporters, I would not survive,” he notes, adding that “If I wasn’t doing a little processing, maybe I would have abandoned the farm a long time ago; I use this value-added production as a marketing strategy”

Mr. Glover is thankful that his products are also able to reach overseas, with visitors seeking to take a sample of Jamaica back to their countries, being among his major clientele.

The keen entrepreneur, who spent 38 years with the Ministry of Agriculture, is eyeing a bright future for his business and has an active social media presence where he mainly utilises Facebook and Instagram to post and promote his products.

Mr. Glover recounts his encouragement, years ago, to local farmers to take a business-like approach to farming.

While expressing concern that “I can’t pinpoint anybody who has taken up the challenge”, he nonetheless continues to “talk to people along that line and try to encourage them to see the benefits of this approach to farming”.