Junior Agriculture Minister Alli Baksh has urged farmers to embrace agriculture as a business and form themselves into groups to access loans to diversify their production.
“Agriculture is really a serious business. Sometimes our farmers fail to see agriculture as a business, but we have got to move out from the old traditional concept of this sector, and embrace the new modern agriculture agenda that is being set in this country,” he said during a meeting with cash crop farmers in Crabwood Creek on Monday, the Government Information Agency (GINA) reported.
GINA noted that the ministers of Agriculture have been meeting with different categories of farmers and advocating increased production, and sustainable growth and development.
At Crabwood Creek, The minister said government is focused on the performance of the traditional sectors with the production and exportation of non-traditional crops and enterprises, like aquaculture farming, bee keeping and spice production.
“What we are doing right now is we have embraced, and are encouraging farmers not to only plant rice, but to also extend into non traditional crops, where there is a possibility,” he said.
The ministry is committed to advancing this agenda, as well as to meeting the increased demand for these agricultural products regionally and internationally.
“We are now exporting 90 commodities to 90 countries in the world… and we are exporting on a daily basis regionally and internationally,” Baksh said, citing, for example the establishment of a market for water coconuts from the Pomeroon. “Water coconut [is] sold to Caribbean countries at $30 and today we have a Barbadian company in the Pomeroon, which is bottling this water coconut with a six-month life-span and we are exporting it to Caribbean and outside the Caribbean,” he said. Baksh also said farmers must cooperate as the ministry does not have the resources to provide all the support to all categories of farmers at the same time. “…Sometimes when the farmers do not immediately get the support they need, you hear grumbles. We cannot give help to everyone at the same time; our resources do not permit us to. We must prioritise and in time address all the needs of all,” he said.
As such, the ministry has been addressing the constraints that hinder growth and implementing support mechanisms, particularly drainage and irrigation infrastructure and training for farmers, to advance growth and development. Significant investment has also been made in applied science and research to counter issues pertaining to climate change, pest and diseases.
According to Baksh, this year support mechanisms that will be introduced to benefit Region Six farmers include the soon-to-be-commissioned seed facility at Number 56 Village, the completion of the two-door sluice at Bengal, Black Bush Polder and new pump stations for the Canje and Port Mourant areas. Some of these interventions are subject to the National Assembly passing the ministry’s 2013 budget, he noted.
The minister further advocated that the farmers apply the cooperative principle at the level of the community to give support to the drive to develop the industries in the sector. “Set up small cottage industries…form yourselves into collectives. If you are a registered body you can get loan, you can get grant and you can use that loan and grants to do small things to develop your enterprises,” he said.
Baksh was accompanied by PPP/C MP Faizal Jaffarally, GINA said.
