Dear Editor,
I have noted the letter by Mr Baliram Persaud appearing in your newspaper under the heading ‘Ministry of Agriculture nursery at Charity short of plants,’ (August 10). The said nursery is managed by NARI. I am not sure when Mr Persaud visited the nursery to make purchases. I want to assure him that some of the plants he mentioned are currently available at the said nursery. All seed material for propagation at Charity is supplied by NARI. Further, it is only in recent times that vegetable seedlings are being produced at Charity. It should be noted that vegetable seedlings have to be sold within a specific timeframe, unlike fruit plants. Consequently, requests need to be made for the types of planting materials in advance.
They nursery at Charity has been increasing production of planting materials incrementally for the past few years. The annual production is currently between 18,000-20,000 plants. This is definitely not enough to satisfy the demand for Region 2. This is the reason why we have been encouraging private individuals/farmer groups to set up their own nurseries in Region 2. These types of nurseries could serve as business centres for potential entrepreneurs. These enterprises are being operated in other regions. It should also be pointed out that earlier this year, public advertisements were made for private individuals/farmers’ groups to operate some of the nurseries under our control, including the one at Charity. NARI would be willing to provide the necessary technical support to individuals interested in establishing nurseries countrywide.
In the interim, I would urge Mr Baliram to revisit the Charity nursery for the acquisition of planting materials. The contact number is 771-5121. For further clarification, I can be contacted on tel # 220-2249.
Yours faithfully,
Oudho Homenauth
Director NARI
