Farmer struggles with dry season and thieves

By Candida Khan. During the struggles of the dry season, all crops usually fight for their lives without water. Some die, others survive. The sun and heat dry out the land making it so cracked that water would just run off the ground.

Now, whenever it rains, Dad is so happy because the plants are happy. He says that there is a block around his land because the rain doesn’t reach to it. So sad.

Added to this, there have been some incidences where thieves come onto the land and steal crops as well as equipment and material. It is a disappointing time when this happens. All the effort, time and money that was put into the land and the crops, all gone to waste.

Dad made a sign and put it in the land saying, “Bring back my equipment and material please!” It has not yet been returned.

Note: In Trinidad and Tobago the Rainy Season is from June to November and the Dry Season is from December to May. The dry season is mostly sunny, with occasional light showers. Tourists mostly visit the islands during the dry season.

December 2016 www.sweettntmagazine.com

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Farmers in Felicity

After retiring at 60 years of age, my dad Fyzul Khan shifted gears into the farming industry twisting road of life. He started off small, using hydroponics and planting small plants such as lettuce and tomatoes in the backyard.

Eventually, he branched off and started his own garden. He now grows crops such as pak choi, peas, corn, cucumber, eggplant, tomato and pumpkin. He has always been a hard worker.

He was the manager of a gas company and after having such a stressful lifestyle in health and safety, life as a farmer has brought him much more joy. When crops grow, you can see the pure happiness on his face. He likes to see his hard work pay off.

Tending to crops is not an easy task and there were many times when he wanted to give up. Obstacles include crops drying out, persons stealing produce or the time-consuming and troublesome task of selling the products. In the beginning, it was very difficult to get crops to grow. Every plant that he painstakingly planted was drying out in the heat.

After a while, Dad went to the land more often and eventually worked out a solution by pumping water from a nearby source. With this change and his investment of time and effort on the land, crops started to grow. There was then an abundance of pumpkin.

Selling them was the next tricky part. My mother Deborah Khan was the mastermind behind the sale of the fruits of his labour. The first crops produced were given away to neighbours, friends and families. We are all thankful for the wonderful products of my dad’s hard work.

Never give up. Keep working towards your goals. Hard work will pay off if you just believe!

October 2015 – Issue 18