In the cool hills of Bangor Ridge, Portland, where lush vegetation stretches as far as the eye can see, 36-year-old Shernett Cobran stands as a testament of her family's rich agricultural legacy. Of her parents' five children, she is the only one who has chosen to embrace the challenges and joys of being a fourth-generation coffee farmer. "I grew up watching my mom and dad doing farming, and of course, as children we used to help out on the farm, and from then I just fell in love with it," Cobran explained.
Cobran started her own two-acre farm at the age of 26. Despite being the only child to actively take on farming, she does get support. One brother, who is a student at the College of Arts, Science and Education in Portland, helps out on her farm occasionally.
Meanwhile, her mother, who operates a shop with Cobran's twin sister, pitches in to help her sell her produce in downtown Kingston. Cobran's other sister owns and operates a shop in Ocho Rios, St Ann, where she lives, while her younger brother is in high school. "I feel really proud to continue this tradition because I actually have a passion for it, and that makes it much easier for me," Cobran said.
In addition to coffee, Cobran also grows banana and plantain, and at times, cash crops like sweet peppers, tomatoes and carrots. She told THE STAR that when she is not farming she works as a cashier. But farming will alway have her heart.
"Yes, I have my nine-to-five, but I don't like it; I prefer my farming," Cobran said, adding that her only reason for not being a full-time farmer is because she needs the extra income. "Farming assists me in a lot a ways. Is it send mi son through school, is it give me most of my income.
But sometimes the crops them on the farm don't ready in time, and sometimes yuh need some extra cash. Sometimes mi nuh really have no help on the farm, but even then, me nuh really mek it bother me. Mi still have to do the nine-to-five to have another income," Cobran explained.
Though the majority of damage caused by the passage of Hurricane Beryl took place along the island's south coast, Cobran's farm was not completely unscathed. "It wasn't too bad. I lost a few crops but I was able to replace them," she said, noting that the plantains were the most affected.
Cobran estimated that she lost roughly $50,000 worth of income because of the damage. Estimated losses to the island's agriculture sector was placed at nearly $5 billion. Cobran added that another major challenge she faces is the poor road condition in her community, which make her farm inaccessible by vehicles.
As a result, whenever she reaps, she has to walk with heavy loads on her head for roughly 30 minutes before she gets to the main road. "It hard, but mi try fi nuh mek it bother me. Whole heap a people ask mi why mi walk suh far wid di load pan mi head, but a fi mi farm and mi love weh mi a duh," Cobran said.
Despite the many challenges she has encountered as a farmer, she said she would never discourage anyone from farming. "Farming is a beautiful thing and mi advise any female to do it. Just have yuh mind set up, focus on what you doing and you will get the benefit of it, because is a 'mind made up' thing, so you have to be well prepared," Cobran said.
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