The Denbigh Agricultural, Industrial and Food Show last week featured some of the innovative methods farmers have been employing to combat the vagaries of climate change, among them the repurposing of plastic bottles as a proactive measure.

During a tour of the showground last Monday, field agents with the Rural Agricultural Authority (RADA) in Westmoreland told the Jamaica Observer that they had started a reduce, reuse and recycle project in the parish to promote the use of plastic bottles in constructing greenhouses and backyard gardens.

The idea was in keeping with the theme for Denbigh this year: ‘Aligning farming decisions with climatic conditions’.

Kwame Stephenson, RADA agricultural assistant for the Darliston area in the parish, told the Sunday Observer that Westmoreland had a lower turnout of farmers than in previous years due to climate-related issues.

“A lot of our farmers are affected by the drought. Because of that, this was not a good year coming to Denbigh because the farmers who we expected crops from were crying that they lost a lot and had to start over. In the area that I am, farmers don’t have any pipe or a river nearby where they can pump water to the farm. These farmers depend on the rain,” said Stephenson.

The use of plastic bottles, however, has opened up other possibilities for farmers who are affected by the drought.

“Instead of having the plastic bottles clog up the drains, farmers can have a water storage system using the plastic bottles. You can have a backyard garden plus you have your business operate from a greenhouse made completely of plastic bottles. We are therefore saying reduce, reuse and recycle waste,” said Stephenson.

RADA extension officer for Grange Hill, Elroy Williams told the Sunday Observer that the idea has gained traction among farmers, most of them cane producers who have been driven out of cultivation due in part to unpredictable rainfall and poor irrigation systems, and who are now transitioning to other crops.

“Currently, for example, we are trying to grow onions in the parish because most of our cane farmers are coming out of cane cultivation. One of the alternatives we are pushing to them is onion. However, because of the unpredictability of the rain we are not able to grow the crop because there is no proper water system to support it. We have been showing them that one of the best ways to grow it is to grow the seedlings inside a green house,” said Williams.

However, with the average start-up cost for a greenhouse being upward of $1.5 million, plastic bottles were identified as an economic and climate-smart solution. In a prototype of the greenhouse, Stephenson explained that 2,500 plastic bottles collected in three weeks were used.

“We give our farmers different ideas about how they can use the plastic bottles. For the water catchment system, we were thinking of using PVC pipes which cost up to $8,000, but we realised that the plastic bottles are easier to use and more cost-effective. Also, when you use the plastic bottles to make the greenhouse you have a lot of space where air can pass through, which creates the right temperature inside — which is good for the plants just the same,” said Stephenson.

Other uses of the plastic bottles included hanging gardens, water catchment and storage systems, as well as slug traps.

“The slugs damage the crop and a lot of farmers lose because of that. You can use the plastic bottles as a slug shop trap. You cut the top of the bottle and put it down in the earth and put stale beer [inside]. If you can’t afford the slug bait, this is an alternative.”

“We are also trying to get people into backyard farming because persons can do a lot of similar things with the plastic bottles at home that the farmer does in the farm, just not on a large scale. We conduct our training on backyard farming with the farmers, including a lot of the females who are up in age and can’t dig the ground anymore; they take to the backyard farming,” said Stephenson

Williams further explained that the aim of the project is to educate farmers about alternative farming methods as they respond to climate change.

“One of objectives is to sensitise farmers and show them how to align with the climate changes. We are using Denbigh as a launching pad for the plastic bottle greenhouse concept, and we are now going into the schools. We want to encourage the youth because in the schools a lot of plastic bottles are used and as RADA workers, we do lend technical assistance to the schools; and since the Government is pushing us to eat what we grow and cut down on sugar, we are saying use the plastic bottles. That will create micro condition where the schools can grow their own vegetables.”

“We are showing the farmers that it can be done because it is done in many other countries,” said Williams.