The Agriculture Ministry in its drive to diversify Guyana’s agricultural base is advocating crop insurance while exploring avenues for increased production of non-traditional crops.
Last November Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud mentioned that there was big potential in the four P’s (pineapple, plantain, pepper and pumpkin) but in a recent interview the minister pointed out that this will not be the only focus.
Minister Persaud told Stabroek News that the ministry would like to see the four P’s move forward but will not stop only at these.
The minister pointed out that right now the country enjoys “food security,” so agriculture has to be taken to the other level which is agriculture for export. Although the country does enjoy food security, Guyanese enjoy a variety of overseas grown foods like onions, potatoes, garlic, carrots, apples, grapes, a variety of peas, wheat and edible oil as well as a wide range of juices and confectionaries.
The four P’s were described as ‘early starters or low hanging fruit’ by the minister, who emphasized that emphasis will also be placed on beef production and aquaculture.
The renegotiated agriculture development/diversification project (ADP) with the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) valued at US$18M, an increase from an earlier projected US$15M, which is to be approved includes enhancing production of the four P’s but also beef and aquaculture.
Under this ADP there will be broad support to the private sector, in such areas as marketing. This project is expected to enhance the local productive capacity so that farmers can take the opportunities presented by rising food prices internationally and in the region, through increased exports, Persaud said.
Persons, he said, are not going to come on board with this drive if they “don’t see money at the end of the day.” The life of the ADP after it is approved is four to five years.
Crop insurance
To offset threats to agriculture like the weather, Persaud suggested that there is need for crop insurance.
But he explained that “insurance companies are reluctant” to provide this type of insurance and the ministry may look at the possibility of self-insurance where the government will establish a fund with an initial contribution that will be maintained by farmers for their use during periods of devastation.
The government has recently committed to the setting up of a fund of this nature for fishermen affected by piracy.
Meanwhile, there are already some ventures on stream to take advantage of favourable food prices internationally. The ministry recently concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with a United States firm to start a greenhouse farming facility.
This greenhouse farm, that is 15-25 acres, is to be established on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway and allows for collaboration with farmers. Persaud noted that farmers would be able to visit the green farm and learn about the farming methods used. The government’s support to this investor included offering the services of an agriculture expert.
Apart from land clearing and preparatory work, the investor is putting up $500,000 to $1M to start the greenhouse farm, which will grow vegetables for the American market.
Cold storage
at Timehri
The goal of the ministry is to work with the United States government to set up a US Food and Drug Administration-approved cold storage facility at Timehri, said the agriculture minister.
In similar fashion he explained that courier company Larparkan would be exploring the option of increasing its shipping and aircraft traffic to facilitate agriculture exports, once the supply is on hand. Already, projects under construction in relation to packaging facilities include the $89M storage and packaging facility at Parika and a planned $10M upgrade for the Sophia packaging facility. And two more packaging facilities are expected in Berbice and in Charity.
But it may take a little more effort for the abattoir to be established, however, since Persaud noted that the ministry would like to see a facility that meets international standards. In that light, it is preferred that the private sector with support from the ministry establish the abattoir. Stabroek News was told that the private sector has viewed the idea with interest.
But even before the establishment of such an abattoir, the minister noted that the stocks to supply the facility must be available and so the ministry is working with the private sector to develop quality breeds.
Meantime, the Guyana Trade and Investment Support (GTIS) project has supported the cultivation of pepper and butternut squash, a member of the pumpkin family.
Diseased
GTIS Business Develop-ment Services Manager Vijay Rambrich told Stabroek News that the project supported the planting of 120,000 bull nose pepper plants by 25 farmers in Parika, but the rainy season adversely affected the crop and most became diseased. As a result, said Rambrich, the pepper project was temporarily moved to Linden, West Coast Berbice, Bath Settlement and plants were distributed in those areas. Some five farmers in Linden are participating in the scheme.
In relation to the butternut squash, around eight farmers in Linden have 10 acres under cultivation with the intention of moving to 50 acres in the next six months, said Rambrich, adding that in Parika 10 farmers are cultivating around 30 acres.
In West Coast Berbice, GTIS is hoping to recruit 20 farmers to cultivate 100 acres of butternut squash and on the Corentyne they are also hoping to recruit another 20 farmers to cultivate another 100 acres. Full cultivation of these lands is expected within the next six months.
Rambrich explained that the intention is to export by this December about 100,000 pounds of butternut squash per week.
GTIS is also working with small farmers to plant cantaloupes, honey dew melons, broccoli, cauliflower and red cabbage. And for these trials the farmers are being given free seeds and technical advice. In the intermediate savannahs, Gerard Mekdeci had much success farming those non-traditional vegetables, which enjoyed a relatively stable demand, before high production costs (transportation and fuel) forced him out of business.
T&T joint venture
In August it was announced that Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago may undertake joint farming. Following that announcement, T&T placed advertisements in the media seeking proposals from Guyanese to invest in agricultural farms in T&T.
The government, Persaud said, was willing to make available to Trinidad and Tobago some 400 acres of land for a joint venture farming project, together with the option of linking up with farmers if necessary, depending on the scale of the production.
Persaud said that the T&T government was presented with a proposal on how the government approaches joint farming, but a response is still outstanding. Observers say it is more than likely that Trinidad will focus on its own cultivation rather than investing here.
Hinterland farming
The minister highlighted that there are moves to improve the extension service in the hinterland regions. For example, in Regions One, Seven, Eight and Nine there are three, four and two part-time extension agents respectively, who were trained at the Guyana School of Agriculture. The minister admitted that transporting produce from these areas to the market was a challenge and mentioned the setting up of bio-fuel stations to provide adequate supplies of fuel.
A large percentage of the crops in the Berbice River area are reportedly spoiled owing to limited access to transportation. In relation to the Berbice River, the minister pointed out that the Ministry of Public Works is looking at this, but he also noted that this can be an opportunity for the private sector.
Currently farmers have complained that the launch service that operates on the river is too expensive. Previously the MV Kim
bia had a weekly scheduled service for the area.
