As a child, Joan Buchanan always anticipated the summer holidays, when she would accompany her parents to the farm to reap a range of crops which would be flourishing after the May/June rains.

She still recalls the joy of going from tree to tree, sampling and reaping seasonal fruits and ground provisions such as mango, Otaheite apple, plantain, cassava, and callaloo, among others.

Now 59 years old, Joan has picked up where her parents left off and now uses the trade to provide for her family. However, the trees have become frugal in their offerings and the bountiful summer harvest she could anticipate is a thing of the past. This year was no normal summer. In fact, the season hasn’t been normal for the past two years.

In an interview with The Gleaner, the resident of Seaforth, St Thomas, lamented the devastating effects a prolonged drought has been having…