The search continues for varieties of potatoes and onions that can be grown commercially and at a competitive cost here.
This project was being pursued by former agriculture minister, Robert Persaud and test plots of Irish potatoes and onions were set up in the highlands of Region Eight. These test plots were successful but the high costs of transportation makes the produce grown there uncompetitive as compared to those that are imported, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy told Stabroek News.
Guyana imports large quantities of Irish potatoes and onions annually and though the cost has not been disclosed, it is believed to be a significant part of the food import bill. Trinidad and Tobago has recently been successful in growing onions competitively on a commercial scale and is also focused on cultivating other imported produce such as carrots with test plots being set up. The twin-island nation wants to reduce its TT$4 billion food import bill and believes that this is possible.
Guyana has tried to grow these crops in Region Eight before. Over three decades ago, a massive agriculture enterprise in the mountainous region saw the production of thousands of pounds of produce but this collapsed due to high transportation costs. The project, which ran from 1972 to 1976, saw the production of cabbage, potatoes, onions and other crops on a large scale. At that time there were virtually no road links in the remote region and the high cost of air transport eventually saw the initiative collapse.
Last Friday, Ramsammy told Stabroek News that the current trials are still ongoing on the test plots in the far-flung region. “The growth of onions and potatoes in Region Eight has been successful,” he added pointing out however, that in terms of producing on a large scale, the transportation system has to be looked at. “It has been successful but only to the extent of a subsistence livelihood,” the minister said. He said that it is possible to produce at a large scale in Region Eight but if the transportation costs are not reduced, they would not be competitive with those that are imported. He said that they are hoping that with the road improvement programme, the scale can be leveraged from a subsistence level to more large-scale production.
The minister said his ministry is now focusing on finding varieties that can be grown on the coast. The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute is testing varieties of onions and while the variety of potatoes that the ministry has cannot grow on the coast, they are looking for a variety that can, the minister said.
Since the PPP/C government had embarked on a Grow More Food campaign and Guyana was also pushing the Caricom agriculture initiative named after former President Bharrat Jagdeo, critics have argued that Georgetown should have been much farther ahead than still looking for appropriate varieties and still lamenting the transportation costs from Region Eight which has been a longstanding issue. Critics have also noted that the PPP/C has been in office for 20 years unbroken but has still not made progress in this area.
Early last year, the authorities had said that improved road links with Region Eight could see the resuscitation of south-western Region Eight as a large producer of “environmentally adaptable crops” such as onions and Irish potatoes. The Government Information Agency had reported that the Ministry of Agriculture is looking to reintroduce large-scale production of “environmentally adaptable crops” such as onions, carrots, turmeric and Irish potatoes in the Region. Kato, Kurukubaru, Tuseneng, Paramakatoi and its satellite village, Bamboo Creek were the communities identified to participate in the initiative which fell under the Agriculture Diversification Project.
In August, Persaud had told Stabroek News that there were difficulties sourcing planting materials and a lot of training also had to be done.
In terms of markets, former chairman of Region Eight, Senor Bell had argued that Lethem in Region Nine and Brazil are potential markets rather than shipping the produce to the coast. He noted that less perishable crops such as ginger, black pepper, and peas and beans can be cultivated there and shipped to the coast.
