DESMOND CUMBERBATCH IS on a mission to change the concept of agriculture in Barbados. He explained that in the mid 1990s agriculture was a means of emancipating poor black families from the system of poverty. He told EASY magazine the children of rural communities thrived from their parents’ labour in the fields, noting that those children wore a cloak of agrarian pride, which caused them to strive for excellence in their chosen career path.
Cumberbatch stressed that the perception of agriculture as drudgery is the biggest challenge facing the nation today and encouraged the youth to get involved in agronomy.
It is believed that the history of Caribbean slavery has affected the mindset toward agriculture, and remnants of this daunting past are present in the acquisition of land and improving one’s social status today.
During an interview at his Ruby Development home in St Philip, Cumberbatch outlined the dynamics between education and agriculture, explaining how the web of mental slavery hinders the island from reaching its fullest potential.
He described agriculture as a tool of empowerment and used his story as one of the first black plantation managers to showcase the liberation of farming.
Cumberbatch was born in 1952 and grew up in the rural parish of St Joseph. He was but a child when the infamous Hurricane Janet ravished the island, leaving several people homeless. He was born into a family of agriculturists and he and his four siblings had the honour of carrying on the family trade.
“My siblings and I got the opportunity to attend both primary and secondary school,” he said. “We were very poor but our parents and grandparents managed to afford it. They used to work the land and everything they produced they sold. They sold produce in a donkey cart, so we used to have a little bit of things coming in.”
Cumberbatch and his siblings were lucky to have a proper education and right after school he landed an administrative government position.
“Because I came up in a farming community a lot of my peers wanted to be a policeman but during my interview I was told I was too short; you had to be 5 feet 8 inches at the time.
“At 19 years old I worked as a supervisor at the MCW. Back then it was the Ministry of Communications and Works, not Transport and Works.”
Cumberbatch worked there for over two years and then he worked as an overseer at Springfield Plantation in St Joseph. He spent over six years there and in 1980 became the manager of Society Plantation, St John. He shared some of the fond memories he had at Springfield.
“I had to plan the day-to-day activities, supervise the staff and I was in charge of the operations of 150 acres of land. Recently, I read in the newspaper that my lifetime friend Edith Wilkinson, who lives in Coconut Grove, St Joseph, celebrated her 104th birthday last month. I read that she told her children stories about Hurricane Janet but the incident whereby Janet literally picked up a house and dropped it into the middle of the road was about my family and I.
“I don’t know if she would remember but she was referring to my house; that happened right outside of her doorstep as I was her next door neighbour. I grew up watching her toil the land with my grandparents and carrying out sheep.
“In the paper she also talked about working at Springfield Plantation and it so happened that she used to be my water lady. I remember Edith used to bring water for the fellows and me and dish it out in a cup. I was happy to see that she is alive and well and strong as ever,” he said.
When Cumberbatch began working at Society Plantation he started as an overseer and within 365 days he was promoted to manager. Although this was a personal achievement for Cumberbatch, it was a record in history. He was one of the few black men during that period to manage a plantation and one of the few with the longest tenure. There he operated 240 acres of land but, unlike Springfield Plantation, Society was plagued with challenges that had seemed impossible to overcome at that time.
However, this was the perfect opportunity for Cumberbatch to display his knowledge. He was able to demonstrate a mastery level of agribusiness and proved that his experience in agronomy not only increased with age but flowed through his bloodline.
“Although I had to work early mornings and late nights, managing Society was not a big task. Agriculture was in me before I knew myself and it came natural, so all I had to do was be smart and apply everything that my parents and grandparents taught me to my job,” he said.
Cumberbatch said that he was focused and dedicated to his job: “In those days we had a different view on life. I would lime with friends but when it came to work there was no time to play around. I had to get to work for 6 a.m. and I took what I did as serious business. I had a purpose, I wanted to achieve my goals and be the best I could be for my family, community and nation.
“The days I spent tilling the land with my grandparents I also had to cut bananas and fetch grass for the animals, so I was confident in the skills they passed on to me. And I always remembered my grandfather telling me that my siblings and I would excel and to never allow myself to think I am bigger than any job or anyone and I keep that at the back of my head to this day.”
As the manager of a cash-strapped plantation, Cumberbatch had to be quick on his feet and to come up with new ideas and techniques to secure the future of the business. And in the 34 years he spent there he did the best that he could and the outcome was rewarding.
“We could not even afford a pint of paint, but my boss and I worked closely together to pull the estate from the ground. Eventually, through careful management and planning, we stopped borrowing money from the Barbados National Bank because we were no longer in debt. And we pulled off all this great work with little to no irrigation. I heavily depended on the weather but all years weren’t the same, so it was tough during droughts.”
Through it all, Cumberbatch was successful, so much so that he donated produce to nursing homes, children’s homes, district hospitals, churches and other organisations. He said representatives from nearby churches and schools contacted him every crop season.
“That used to make me feel very great to be honest, knowing I could help feed the nation. And it was heart-warming when people sent thank you letters to show their appreciation.