Introduction

Peasant farming is an integral part of St Vincent and the Grenadines' economy. It is also a major source if

income for the community of Queen’s burry located in Vermont with the majority of the populist being

peasant farmers. Peasant farming is where we are variety of crops are grown and livestock reared to be

sold or used by the house hold. The farmers of the community face a great deal of challenges such as

predial larceny which is the theft of produce.

 Aim

The aim of the study is to investigate the problems that peasant farmers in Queen’s burry Vermont are

facing and to propose possible solutions to these problems .

 Methodology

How

The researcher used questionnaires to collect information about peasant farming in Queen’s burry

Vermont . A total of ten (10) questionnaires were distributed in the community. Two farmers were selected

randomly and they were interviewed. The researcher then accompanied these two farmers to their farm

lands to make observations and pictures were taken. The researcher used text books and the internet to

obtain additional information.

When

On December 15th ,2018 the researcher distributed the ten questionnaires to the farmers of Queen’s burry

between the 3:30 pm and 5 pm.

The questionnaires were collected on the spot as soon as the farmers filled them out. The following day

December 16th , 2018 the researcher accompanied one of the farmers to their land and pictures were taken.

On December 17th a different farmer was observed and pictures of the area were taken .

Where
 The area on which the study was conducted is Queen’s burry Vermont , St Vincent and the

Grenadines.

Presentation of data

Picture 1
Picture showing the size of land a Queen’s burry farmer cultivates

Figure 1

Chart Title
6

0
1 -3 years 4 - 6 years 7-9 yea rs 10 Yea rs

Chart showing the period of time Queen’s burry residents have been

farmers.
 Chart Title

l ack of capi tal

l ack of proper storage

poor feeder roads

0 0.5 1 1.5 2 2.5 3 3.5 4 4.5

Figure 2

Chart showing what problems are more dominant amongst the farmers.
Figure 3

Chart Title

30.00%
vegetabl es
40.00%
ground provi s i ons
tree crops
frui ts
10.00%

20.00%
Pie chart showing the main type of crops cultivated by the farmers.

Analysis of data

The average land holding is between 1 – 2 acres for a peasant farmer in Queen’s burry .

Sixty percent of the farmers interviewed were female between the ages of 45 and 65 . The remaining forty

percent were young males between the ages of 25 and 35. The survey revealed that fifty percent of the

persons had been farmers for over a decade . While twenty percent have been farmers between one and

three years. Many of the farmers said that their lands are located far away from their homes 70 percent of

them had lands far away from their dwelling houses. Seventy percent of the farmers said that they had

been affected by predial larceny before . When asked what problems most affected them forty percent of

the farmers responded with poor feeder roads , thirty percent said a lack of capital while the remaining

thirty percent said that a lack of proper storage facilities mostly affected them. The majority of the

farmers cultivated mainly vegetables forty percent of the farmers grow vegetables , thirty percent grew

ground provisions while the remaining Twenty percent was split between tree crops and fruits. When

asked where they sold their produce eighty percent of the farmers said that it was sold to the local market

while the other twenty percent said that they sold to restaurants.
 Problems

Predial larceny.

A make shift fence created by a farmer to keep thieves out

Farmers in Queen’s burry Vermont face numerous problems but one of the most

dominant is predial larceny which is the thieving of produce or crops from farms. According to

information gathered from the survey seventy percent of the farmers interviewed had been affected by

this. The main cause of this is because many of the farmers live far away from there farm lands and also
because the farms are not fenced which allows the thieves easy access to the produce. The problem is so

severe that at harvest Time farmers often build make shift homes to stay and monitor their crops to

prevent thieves from being stolen. Predial larceny has even caused some farmers to become discouraged

from farming and due to this some have begun to seek alternative employment because when they plant

their crops they cannot benefit and lose thousands of dollars to thiev es.

Poor feeder roads

Picture showing the condition of the roads

Another problem that queen's burry Vermont farmers face is that there are poor feeder roads. The

roads are In terrible and deplorable conditions. The roads are unpaved and are almost impassable when
there is heavy rainfall . This creates problems for the farmers as when there Is heavy rainfall some of the

roads become impassable and prevents them from accessing their lands. The poor feeder roads makes it

difficult transport produce as vehicles cannot travel on the roads manual labor is required to carry produce

to main roads.

Lack of proper storage

Picture of a make shift storage facility

 An additional problem that the farmers face is that they lack the proper facilities to

store their crops after they have been harvested. The survey revealed that thirty percent cent of the

farmers interviewed have a storage problem . The problem often leads to crops spoiling . This is a severe

problem because the majority of farmers cultivate vegetables which perish quickly . This could

potentially cause the farmers to lose money. The problem also contributes to predial larceny as the crops

can easily be stolen because there is no place secure to store them. A solution to this problem could

arrange for the produce to be transported to there homes for storage .

Lack of capital

Chart Title
$5,000
$4,500
$4,000
$3,500
Axis Title

$3,000 average a mount of

$2,500 money i nvested
$2,000 number of farmers
$1,500
$1,000
$500
$0
1 2 3
Axis Title
Column graph

showing the average amount of money invested by farmers.

Of the ten farmers interviewed sixty percent if them could only afford to invest $2000 dollars into their

lands . This is a serious problem for them as many of the farmers cannot afford to purchase machinery in

order to assist them instead they rely on primitive tools such as hoes and cutlasses to use in the Fields.

The farmers lack the sufficient funds to invest mainly because the income received is reduced due to
predial larceny and lack of proper storage facilities . When the crops are stolen or spoilt the farmers lose

money and thus cannot invest more money into the farms. This problem could be solved by having the

farmers apply for grants from. The government to assist them in the maintenance of their crops.

Conclusion

The farmers of Queen’s burry Vermont face many problems some more severe than others. The aim of

this sba was to investigate the main problems that Queen’s burry Vermont farmers faced , In order to do

this a questionnaire was made and ten farmers were selected to fill out the questionnaire and two farmer

were interviewed and accompanied to their farm lands where photos were taken and observations were

made , textbooks and the internet were used to gather additional information. Peasant farming is very

dominant throughout Queen’s burry it is the main source of income for the majority of farmers. Many of

them have been farmers for over a decade . Numerous crops are cultivated with the main crops being

ground provisions and vegetables. most of the farmers sell their produce to restaurants or the local

market. The farmers are faced with numerous challenges of which the major ones are predial larceny , a

lack of storage facilities and poor feeder roads. Predial larceny Is a frequent occurrence in Vermont

mainly because the farmers live far away from the lands and thieves take advantage of this and o the

unmonitored crops. Poor feeder roads are also a major problems the roads are practically non existent and

causes transportation issues as it makes it difficult carry produce to the markets. Lack of storage also

creates issues for the farmers because there is no where to store crops when harvested they spoil and
rotten or sometimes they are even stolen. This decreases the farmers income. Because of this low income

it becomes difficult for farmers to maintain the lands and some of them abandon farming all together. The

study has thoroughly examined the problems facing the peasant farmers and solutions to these problems

have been proposed..

Bibliography

Books

Wilson . M the Caribbean environment 5th edition United kingdom 2016

Websites

Geo for cxc , https://www.geoforcxc.com/economic-activities/peasant-farming-in-guyana/ 3rd February ,

2019
Appendix