Atkinson Felix developed a love for agriculture through his involvement in the 4-H Movement at the St. Michael’s Roman Catholic School ( St. Andrew). In his youthful days, Felix loved participating in the competitions, organized by this club and even recalls the days when his school won a number of them.
Being an active member of the club, he was recognized for his outstanding performance as a 4-H’er. He said that was the reason he continued with agriculture; a love that encouraged him to pursue a career in the field, which spanned for around thirty (30) years, providing technical support to Banana Farmers, as an Extension Officer .
Following his retirement and having contributed to some of the developments in the Banana Industry, he took on farming full-time, providing different types of bananas to his markets, as well as planting material for farmers and friends.
Ackie, as he is known in the village( Caruth) , grows a wide variety – sweet potatoes, tomatoes, cabbages, carrots , beets, cauliflower , beans and others – but prefers plantains. For the last thirty-five (35) to forty (40) years he has been doing plantains, because of the demand for it.
Ninety-five percent of what he produces on his six(6) acre plot is consumed by his family.
He explained the Banana Leaf Spot Disease to be one of his major challenges and said that important agronomic practices such as field sanitation, fertilisation and weeding have helped.
Another of the challenges for him was Praedial Larceny. “At one time , I almost gave up; someone made me a customer of theirs. Every week I was losing about 5-6 bunches of plantains. In two and a half months, that person stole 45 bunches of plantains,” he said.
Although he was disappointed by this occurrence, he continued with his plantain plot, because he likes farming. “If I had to do it all over again, I would and I encourage anyone to get into agriculture because of its dynamism.”
For a farming venture to be successful , Ackie says location, availability and access to land, helps. “You must pay attention to these attributes,” he said. “Imagine if you have to walk with produce, it’s hard or even if you’re farming in the low-lands and you don’t have irrigation – simple things like these can be frustrating .”
He also suggests to young farmers to be educated about the type of crops they are selecting and do research on the market demands .”
Things to note about Atkinson “Ackie “ Felix:
- He is an experienced Banana Farmer .
- He farmed even though he had a full-time job as an extension officer.
- He became a full-time farmer, after retirement.
PREPARING HOLES AND PLANTING BANANAS
Info taken from the Banana Tech Pack-Developed by Derek Charles-National Specialist at IICA Grenada- for the Ministry of Agriculture.
Holes should not be prepared too long before planting.
- Dig holes at the intervals where the pickets are placed during lining.
- It is advisable that planting holes be freshly dug and not waterlogged.
- Planting out in the field should be done early in the morning or late in the afternoon to avoid
too much heat to the plants on hot dry days.
- The size of the planting hole will depend on the size of the planting material. However, on
average the planting hole should be 1.5 – 2ft X 1.5 – 2ft. Deeper holes about 2.5 – 3ft are
required if farmers will be using manure and crop residue in the planting holes.
- For tissue culture plants, the holes should be able to accommodate the size of the bagged
portion of the plants with just an extra 5 inches free from the circumference of the hole.
- The banana plants should be watered prior to planting. The bag surrounding the base of the
tissue culture plant must be removed ensuring that the roots are intact.
- Place one plant per hole and use a fork to break the soil around the plant to fill the hole.
- If additional soil is needed use topsoil to fill the hole so that water does not settle close to
the plant.
Bananas need plenty of water within the first five months of the plant life, so it is better to plant during the wetter months for those who do not have irrigation
