The president of a newly revived farming group in John’s Town, Portland, is appealing for help for young farmers in the community who he says have turned to cultivating marijuana because of a lack of assistance.

Delroy Clarke told the Jamaica Observer yesterday that there were many young men in the community, including several who have access to lands but are unable to farm because they cannot afford to buy seeds.

What’s more, Clarke said that the young men have resorted to planting ganja, which they then smoke.

“Most of the youth on the road, why you see them kneading up their hand middle is because they have no help. Most of them would farm, but they have no help to start,” Clarke lamented.

“A couple of them have farms, and I want to get them out of planting ganja because, you see, when they plant the ganja; they plant a little and then smoke it,” he said.

Added Clarke: “I am not criticising ganja, but I am just saying that I would like to get them out of that; mek dem plant food, callaloo, pak choi, cucumber and things like that. Mek it sell and mek money and help demself and dem family.”

According to Clarke, many of the young men are school dropouts and, hence, do not have the education or skills to seek other means of employment.

“You have most of them… who dropped out of school because of poor background; the families don’t have it, and they have no one to counsel them and tell them that they cannot stay on the street side, and that they must go and plant vegetables,” he said.

However, Clarke said that he is willing to take some of the young men under his wing and accommodate them on his farm, as he currently has an empty nursery, but that they would need help with seeds, tools and fertiliser.

“Dem stick on to me, dem gravitate towards me because I am a person who will give them some food. I don’t really have it, but I am a good person,” he said.

Clarke said that, overall, the farmers in the community need help, and that they would greatly appreciate a meeting with a representative from the Ministry of Agriculture.

“We need the help cause there are plenty poor farmers up here right now who would be glad for the help,” he said.

“Most of the guys even on the ‘ends’ right now would a like if a RADA (Rural Agricultural Development Authority) representative would come with a tin of tomato seed and say to me ‘Sow this, Mr Clarke, and when it grows give everybody 40 or a 50’. That would be good because sometimes most of the farmers can’t even buy food fi go bush,” he said.

“We can find land, we have plenty land, but it is just the seeds and the fertiliser we need,” he added.