Grenada's farmers may be aging, but six out of ten farmers believe that when they retire there is someone in the family who will continue operating the family farm.

This is one of several indications emanating from the Land Utilisation Survey, conducted in November 2005 by the Agency for Reconstruction and Development Inc. (ARD), in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries.

The Survey revealed that the mean age for farmers is 53.7 years, which is approximately two years older that it was when the Agricultural Census was conducted in 1995.

However, even though the mean age of farmers has increased, 62 percent say they can identify a relative as a successor.

The Survey, which was geographically stratified from 100 Enumeration Districts, included face to face interviews with 1,016 randomly selected farmers. The questionnaire contained 104 questions under the following
headings:

• Land Status,
• Labour Information,
• Land Utilisation,
• Nutmeg and Cocoa,
• Other Crops,
• Future Intentions,
• Praedial Larceny,
• Financial and Technical Assistance,
• Farm Associations and Marketing,
• Attractiveness of Labour Pool and Land Bank, Farm Contribution to Income

Here are some highlight about the state of Grenada's farms and the composition of the farming population, as gleaned from the Survey:

1. 73 percent of respondents were male;
2. 62 percent where between the age of 41 and 70 years;
3. 77 percent indicated primary school as the highest level of education;
4. 68 percent indicated farming as their main occupation;
5. 71 percent of farms are less than five acres;
6. 27 percent of farms are between one and two acres;
7. 24 percent of farms are between two and five acres;
8. 89 percent of farmers own their farms and posses the Title Deed;
9. 77 percent do not have access to irrigation;
10. 69 percent use chemical fertiliser
11. 40 percent use pen manure.

The Land Survey results were released to stakeholders during a formal presentation at the ARD Board Room on January 19 at which Minister of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries Gregory Bowen said the Government of Grenada generally and the Ministry of Agriculture, Lands, Forestry and Fisheries in particular will be guided by the Survey results.

"We will do whatever we can - given our limited resources - in collaboration with the ARD, the commodity boards, the farming community and all other stakeholders involved in agriculture to further advance and modernise the sector," Minister Bowen said.