ALTHOUGH it remains an important part of the Jersey economy, Island agriculture is no longer the force that it once was.
It still provides livelihoods for a good number of people, it remains the guardian of the Jersey cow and the Jersey Royal, and it plays a vital role in preserving our green spaces. Unfortunately, however, economic pressures far beyond our influence have made a range of once successful traditional activities unviable.
In the past, the Jersey tomato was almost as famous as the Royal potato, although that fame was won by an outdoor crop which all but disappeared many years ago. Now the sector that superseded it, tomato culture under glass, has gone the same way, followed rapidly by carnations grown under glass.
Everything from the price of fuel oil and the strictures imposed by UK supermarket chains to increasing competition from centres where crops can be grown more cheaply because of low wages or government subsidies can be blamed for the demise of the Jersey glasshouse sector.
It can also be argued that such pressures are simply facts of economic life and that if Island growers cannot compete, they have no choice but to give up the struggle.
Such a hard-nosed attitude might be realistic, but it must not preclude concern for those whose way of life has been turned upside down. Nor should it blind us to the unfortunate side-effects of the loss of two activities that were once viewed as essential parts of the economy.
It is clear that there will now be renewed pressure for disused glass-houses to be demolished and the land they occupied to be used for other purposes — the most obvious of which is housing.
Although areas of glass cannot be described as ‘countryside’, their replacement by other buildings can still be regarded as an erosion of the precious rural environment.
Meanwhile, at a time when it is generally recognised that the Jersey economy should be making every attempt to diversify to at least dilute the extent to which we rely on financial services, the loss of any formerly profitable activity is to be deeply regretted.
Tomatoes: A sad farewell
ALTHOUGH it remains an important part of the Jersey economy, Island agriculture is no longer the force that it once was.
It still provides livelihoods for a good number of people, it remains the guardian of the Jersey cow and the Jersey Royal, and it plays a vital role in preserving our green spaces. Unfortunately, however, economic pressures far beyond our influence have made a range of once successful traditional activities unviable.
In the past, the Jersey tomato was almost as famous as the Royal potato, although that fame was won by an outdoor crop which all but disappeared many years ago. Now the sector that superseded it, tomato culture under glass, has gone the same way, followed rapidly by carnations grown under glass.
Everything from the price of fuel oil and the strictures imposed by UK supermarket chains to increasing competition from centres where crops can be grown more cheaply because of low wages or government subsidies can be blamed for the demise of the Jersey glasshouse sector.
It can also be argued that such pressures are simply facts of economic life and that if Island growers cannot compete, they have no choice but to give up the struggle.
Such a hard-nosed attitude might be realistic, but it must not preclude concern for those whose way of life has been turned upside down. Nor should it blind us to the unfortunate side-effects of the loss of two activities that were once viewed as essential parts of the economy.
It is clear that there will now be renewed pressure for disused glass-houses to be demolished and the land they occupied to be used for other purposes — the most obvious of which is housing.
Although areas of glass cannot be described as ‘countryside’, their replacement by other buildings can still be regarded as an erosion of the precious rural environment.
Meanwhile, at a time when it is generally recognised that the Jersey economy should be making every attempt to diversify to at least dilute the extent to which we rely on financial services, the loss of any formerly profitable activity is to be deeply regretted.
Article posted on 10th November, 2008 - 3.00pm