Since age 11, Ceejay Cunningham was exposed to farming, planting corn, sugar cane, and mint. Now, at 28 years old, he is the 2022 prime minister’s youth awardee for agriculture.

“To be an awardee, it is a great feeling, where I’m proud of myself and I’m happy to know that my family is feeling proud. Additionally, a lot of persons can get some form of inspiration and a sense of hope that they can achieve too,” he told the Jamaica Observer on a recent visit to his farmhouse in Chantilly, Manchester.

His mother, Joan Lewis, who says Ceejay has the ‘green thumb’, expressed how happy she was to know that her son walked away with this prestigious national award.

“I feel great; I feel good; and I really appreciate him being one of the selected prime minister’s youth awardees. I always prayed for him ’cause I realised that he has the potential and he loves farming. Whatever he puts his hands to, as long as it is something green, it always continues to be green,” she shared with a bright smile.

Lewis also underscored that her son is very helpful.

“Most of the times when I need stuff to plant, I say, ‘Ceejay, come and plant this stuff for me, because I know it’s gonna come out good.’ I had some flowers once which were not doing well and I asked him to do them for me, and trust me, those flowers just begin to bloom,” Lewis added.

Cunningham, a past student of Bellefield High School, owns and operates Fairwoods Farm JA, which sells produces such as peppers, strawberries, tomatoes, thyme, and lettuce to local markets and community residents.

He told the Observer that 2020 was a life-changing moment for him during the novel coronavirus pandemic, where he started producing strawberries on a wider scale.

“I have always been doing farming, but it’s not like I was making a lot of money, so I wasn’t really doing it right through, but I never walked away from it. What sparked my interest is that I have a friend by the name Omar Beak; he had two strawberry plants, and I remember it bore one strawberry fruit and we shared that one strawberry; it was tasty. I was inspired.

“That’s where I did my research and discovered AbbeyGarden Farm, where I purchased the strawberry plants. It was a total amount [of] 70 plants at a cost of $8,000, and at the time, I didn’t have any money to buy them, so my mother is the one who funded my idea,” explained Cunningham.

“When I started growing and understanding about strawberry, seeing the results and what I have achieved is what keeps me pushing for greater results, and this is why I’m here right now,” he added.

Cunningham underscored that farming comes with its fair share of challenges.

“The most difficult situations I faced was climate change, not having a consistent water source, not having adequate storage for harvesting rain water, fighting pest and disease, limited technology to improve the upgrading of the farm, and not having adequate information and resources for the improvement and development of the farm,” he noted.

Notwithstanding, the Southwest TVET Institute graduate used these setbacks to tap into his creativity.

“The challenges that I faced turned out to be impactful because I had able to think out of the box and learn how to make the little that I had work in my favour; it’s like making bread out of stone,” said Cunningham.

“I started seeing results that made a significant increase where I was able to invest in the farm, where I built two greenhouses and I’m looking toward greater improvement and development of more greenhouses in the future,” he continued.

Cunningham is urging more young people to get involved in agriculture.

“If you are someone who [is] passionate about farming…you just have to set a goal; once you set a goal then you will work towards that goal. And once you are consistent and dedicated and you believe in yourself, you can see great results from the work that you’ve put in. And that will encourage you because they say, encouragement sweetens labour.

“If you plant some strawberries and make a good amount of money, you will want to continue. And then you are going to perfect your craft. You are going to improve and always try to be better. And that’s the only way you are going to strive for greatness,” he advised.

Cunningham, who also does construction and tiling, said that one of his long-term objectives is to open a restaurant, having created a business plan since 2014. He possesses HEART/NSTA Trust certificates in food and beverage and food preparation.

He is grateful to Jermaine Allen and Dwain Moodie who supported his nomination for the youth award.