WEEK 5/DAY 2 -MOA INTERNS FIELD TRIP part 2 by Keairra Smith and Carol-Faye Bynoe-George

The Ministry of Agriculture Interns journeyed on to the Wally Browne Farm located on Bethesda village main road.  Mr. Geno Browne/owner of Wally Browne Farm, which he inherited from his deceased father Wally Browne and the organizer of “Farmers Only” events is well respected by the ministry of Agriculture. He has been farming full time on the Wally Browne Farm for twelve (12) years and proudly explained that his family has been farming for three hundred and fifty (350) years in Bethesda.

Mr. Browne admitted that he plans is to keep his farm as organic as possible.  Further, he explained several projects and intentions that are in process such as the yellow melons known as “Mountain Sweet” and the upscale production of onions. This melon is special to them and only grown there. The key method is to hydrate the melons, and it’ll become strong and healthy. This is what made them very sweet.

He assured interns that anybody can farm but need to select an area of the sector, be committed and work diligently towards their goals.  Farming is being diverse.

Other information he shared were on the other crops such as sweet potatoes and onion bulb are grown from October to April.
Presently he is growing King Crab sweet potatoes and Blue Moon white yams which takes about 8 1/2 months to get to maturity.
This type of yam production has been going on for three generations on the Wally Browne Farm. On an average they harvest 25000 pounds of yam per year.

When he started on the farm there was only fifteen (15) coconut trees, but the lethal yellowing disease and destroyed thirteen from the remaining two today they now have eight hundred on property, however the intention is to have two thousand.  He then reported that has over two hundred (200) sweet tamarind trees and the aim was to reach five hundred (500).

On the final leg of the tour Mr. Browne advised the interns to “think big and think smart”. “Don’t use time or money as an excuse to start your dreams whatever thoughts you have put it into play” he says.

Before their departure the interns got an opportunity to view the beautiful farm and had a taste of pomegranate and mountain sweet melon.