Drought crippling Flagaman farmers

June 17, 2025
Clarke waters his melons.
Clarke waters his melons.
Deveroue Runners picks canteloupes from his farm in Flagaman, St Elizabeth.
Deveroue Runners picks canteloupes from his farm in Flagaman, St Elizabeth.
Melons growing on the farm of Carlton Ebanks.
Melons growing on the farm of Carlton Ebanks.
Farmer Matthew Clarke laments the lack of water and the negative impact it has on his crops.
Farmer Matthew Clarke laments the lack of water and the negative impact it has on his crops.
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Frustrated, tired, and on the brink of financial ruin is how farmers in Flagaman, St Elizabeth, say they feel, as yet another dry spell cripples their production and their pockets.

"I don't have any water," said 35-year-old Deveroue Runners, who has been farming since he was 15. "If I had water, I could farm up all the land, but I don't have any water. So I have to just farm what I can manage, and it's really expensive to keep a crop here in Flagaman."

St Elizabeth has long been called Jamaica's breadbasket, thanks to its rich soil and high volume of domestic crop production. But, despite this reputation, farmers in areas like Flagaman say they're being left to fend for themselves as drought conditions worsen. Runners, who currently cultivates cantaloupe, honeydew, and cucumbers on 20 acres, said his biggest challenge is that the crops he grows "need water". With no irrigation in place, he's forced to spend tens of thousands of dollars every week to truck in water or watch his investments dry up.

"One truck load of water is like $12,000," he explained. "So we have to buy like two more tomorrow, that's $24,000. And the next five days again, and I have to spend a next $24,000 to wet it again."

Farmers argue that an irrigation system would solve their problem and they find it baffling that although water is nearby in Pedro Plains, it hasn't been led to them. He said he's been raising the issue for years, as have farmers before him. Member of Parliament (MP) Floyd Green has represented St Elizabeth South Western since 2016 and was appointed Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining in May 2023.

"Well, the MP said that he's going to irrigate Flagaman for us, so we're hoping and praying for the best," said Runners.

But while the farmers wait, the sun continues to beat down, and the bills continue to pile up. THE STAR observed 51-year-old Matthew Clarke using a bucket to draw water from a barrel under the scorching sun to wet his crops. He said the task "takes the whole day". According to Runners, other Flagaman farmers are having the same difficulties. Among them is 70-year-old Carlton Ebanks, who has also been farming since he was 15. These days he focuses on melons, but the drought has reduced his produce to undersized fruit.

"On the farm right now, why the melon is so small is because of short[age] of water. Drought caused it," Ebanks explained. "You buy water and put it in the garden that can save me as a farmer, but that means I don't make any money."

"From we born come see farm lands here we a deal with drought," he added. Promises from politicians have become a broken record.

"Every politician that comes to represent this area, we ask for [irrigation] and it's pure promise," Ebanks said. "When them a run, them promise they are gonna give us irrigation and we don't get none. When they get there, no more."

Ebanks opined that Black River could be used to supply the area with irrigation water.

"Them explain say it too expensive to bring it here but I don't agree," he said. "The Black River can be used to carry the water go Malvern and free float it come this side. So it's a matter of them actually fulfilling their promises."

Ebanks, like many others, is also watching the hurricane season with worry.

"Of course, we fear for hurricanes all the while. You have to fear it for the garden, the house and for everything," he said. He lost drums during Hurricane Beryl last year, but said others lost far more. The market for their produce has also dried up.

"I sell to anybody who wants melons to buy," Ebanks shared. "Right now things slow because I don't have any market for them. Some of the buyers a seh bwoy dem a spoil up pon dem cause people nah buy."

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