‘I’m building my dream’

“If you’re not building your dream, you’re building someone else’s,” said Andy Griffiths, a vegetable farmer operating from Goshen in St Elizabeth, who transformed a simple love for farming into a successful agricultural enterprise, despite setbacks.

For the past 16 years, Griffiths has been building his agricultural business from the ground up, cultivating crops such as lettuce, broccoli, cauliflower, sweet pepper and grape tomatoes in two large greenhouses; and sweet corn and melon in the open field.

A former contractor in the Circulation Department at The Gleaner, Griffiths developed a deep appreciation for the farmers he encountered daily and the crops they cultivated during the nine years he spent delivering newspapers throughout the farming communities of St Elizabeth.

“I used to like to see the men in the early morning doing their thing. Iceberg lettuce was my favourite thing to see growing,” he related.

When he left his job in 2010, ready access to family-owned land provided Griffiths with the opportunity to pursue a future in agriculture.

“My dad had a lot of land,” he pointed out, adding that it amounted to six acres, but he currently only uses one acre.

His first venture into agriculture, however, was not vegetables but ornamental plants.

“I was always a flowers person, planting a lot of flowers, but I didn’t make any money from it. So I stopped and started greenhouse farming,” he shared.

He disclosed that he entered agriculture with no formal training but embraced every opportunity to learn from experienced farmers.

“It came natural, but you still have to learn. I had a few persons who showed me the ins and outs. They still come across every now and then and teach me a few things.”

That willingness to learn enabled him to establish a successful farming operation. He also adopted environmentally friendly farming practices, using natural pest-control methods, including vinegar, citric acid and baking soda, while investing in water harvesting and solar-powered security systems to improve the sustainability of his business.

Three loans from JN Bank Small Business Loans have played a significant role in helping him build and expand the business.

“If it wasn’t for the loans, I would be bankrupt a long time, because I kept selling my assets to keep up before I found out about JN Bank Small Business Loans,” he disclosed.

Grateful for the financial support he has received, Griffiths has become an enthusiastic advocate for the bank’s small business loans products, frequently encouraging other entrepreneurs to take advantage of the loan opportunities.

“It has helped me tremendously, that’s why I tell people about it. It’s just not easy nowadays to stay in afloat in business. Everybody that goes in to sign up for the loan, my name is actually there to say who told you about the loan.”

“No matter how farming gets tough, there is always the JN Bank Small Business Loans to help you. I tell them a million times I would love to do a commercial for them,” he said gleefully.

After years of steadily building his business, Hurricanes Beryl and Melissa destroyed much of it, including both of his greenhouses, and wiped out approximately 30,000 sweet corn plants, setting the business back significantly. His home was also damaged, and his car rental business took a nosedive as he had to sell most of the vehicles and other fixed assets to sustain himself.

Rebuilding his greenhouse operation is only part of Griffiths’ long-term vision. He also hopes to introduce aquaponics, a fish-farming system where water enriched by the fish is recycled to fertilise plants naturally, and hydroponics, the cultivation of plants without soil.

Despite his greenhouse not yet being back in operation, Griffiths has resorted to planting the vegetables in the open fields instead. Each week, he plants 10,000 lettuce seedlings and harvests 5,000 to 6,000 pounds of lettuce each month, noting that the greenhouse would have provided greater yields.

“I’m very passionate about farming,” he emphasised, adding that he employs up to five people.

Outside the fields, Griffiths has another full-time responsibility, raising his almost four-year-old daughter as a single father.

“I’m trying to do farming and raise my child at the same time by myself,” he said.

His days are long and demanding, beginning at 4 a.m. and often stretching up to 10 p.m.

“Farming is a 48-hour job; it’s right around the clock because, at night, I have to be filling up the drums [with water] for the other day.”

Yet, despite the setbacks and sacrifices made, Griffiths remains convinced he made the right decision about going into agriculture.

“Farming is what bought and started everything. All the cars that I was renting, everything started with the money from the farm,” he reflected.