Agriculture Ministry will help investors develop
The transference of technologies for climate change adaptation and mitigation to the agricultural sector in Guyana is listed as one of the key pursuits of the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI) in its 2009 Annual Report and towards this end the institute has already been involved in collaboration with national and international agencies “working on the frontline of climate change” to train farmers and other stakeholders in the use of those technologies.
NARI, according to its annual report, is seeking to prepare local farmers to respond to what is widely believed to be increasingly serious environmental challenges that could face agriculture in the period ahead. According to the NARI report, while agriculture “will continue to be important to national and regional development” in the period ahead, weather will remain a key factor in agricultural productivity “despite technological advances such as improved varieties… and drainage and irrigation systems.”
The report says that “while the international aspect of trade and security in terms of food implies that there is need to consider the effects of climate change on a global scale, the effect of climate on agriculture will affect agricultural practices, cause environmental problems and pressure on rural space among other areas.”
NARI says its response to the challenge of climate change will be located within its new Climate Change and Agricultural Adaptation Unit based at Mon Repos, which has already developed a “long-term programme” in keeping with the goals of the Ministry of Agriculture and in line with the Low Carbon Development Strategy. According to the report, NARI is currently seeking to secure external funding to supplement a $12.5 million subvention received from the Ministry of Agriculture to run the unit.
NARI’s Annual Report names three agricultural proposals that had been prepared by the new unit and sent to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) for funding. However, according to the report, funding was not forthcoming “due to limited numbers being offered”. The proposals included a project that addresses the introduction of a “low-cost drip irrigation system” for local farming communities; the second one addresses “intensive production of vegetables under semi-protected conditions in the Rupununi Savannah and the third focuses on the promotion of agriculture in hinterland as part of the wider focus on environmental sustainability and food security in the agricultural sector.
The new unit has also been preparing cost estimates for the erection of Shade Houses for crops in order “to give farmers and investors an idea of what will be the cost of setting up such a structure and what is the likely return from such an investment.” According to the report the erection of Shade Houses can cost between $800 and $1,000 per square foot; can realize a 20-30% yield increase; better fruit quality and shorter time to harvest and “farmers can expect to pay back their investment within a year if managed properly.”
The new unit had also prepared a proposal for European Union funding support in pursuing a project titled ‘the production of vegetables with the use of biochar in low-fertility soils in Guyana’. Funding was also not secured for this project.
Part of the focus of the new unit is on the creation of a number of demonstration facilities in various areas within the country’s agricultural belt in order to deepen farmers’ knowledge of the techniques of “protected cultivation.” Such facilities have already been established at Hope Estate on the East Coast Demerara, Kuru Kuru on the Soesdyke/Linden Highway and Garden of Eden on the East Bank Demerara.
Meanwhile, NARI Director Dr Oudho Homenauth told Stabroek Business that in a bid to encourage higher levels of investment in farming the Ministry of Agriculture is prepared to secure assistance for potential investors in the preparation of business plans. “At the moment we are seeking to woo people to help in the development of business plans for the agricultural sector. Some of the areas in which we are working are duck, pig and sheep rearing, nurseries for seedlings and agro-processing.”