Spice processing equipment will soon be installed at Hosororo in Region One to process turmeric.
Minister of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy recently disclosed that the ministry with funds from the 2013 Budget was able to source semi processors for processing spices from India, the ministry said in a statement. It noted that as a component of the diversification process and towards transforming the economies of hinterland communities, the ministry in 2008 initiated a spice project in communities in Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9, where the soil type is appropriate for the cultivation of spices such as turmeric (dye), ginger, black pepper and nutmeg.
Minister Ramsammy explained that in Hosororo, the farmers’ success in turmeric production was affected following constraints in getting the product to Georgetown. “The addition of the semi-processor will see turmeric being reduced to a powder form thus making it easier for transport to the market in the capital. The ministry is set to install the equipment in a few weeks,” the statement said.
The ministry is also making arrangements to upgrade the entire nursery in Hosororo. Farmers there grow turmeric and ginger.
Meanwhile, with Guyana’s farine gaining popularity outside of its traditional users, the ministry has moved to semi-industrialisation for the processing of the product made from cassava. This is to move the crop production from a subsistence level to an actual industry. Work in this regard was initiated with the communities of Tapacuma and Wowetta to improve on their production practices, the ministry noted. The statement said that the ministry had moved to acquired semi-processors for these communities.
“We are trying to find the appropriate equipment. We went to Brazil to find those but we were not able to procure the equipment that we need and so right now we are trying to procure those equipment out of India, to resuscitate Tapacuma and replace all the equipment they have. The equipment that they had there was not appropriate and so we are procuring both those equipment for St Deny’s/Tapacuma and Wowetta,” Ramsammy was quoted as saying.
The ministry said that government’s holistic approach to agricultural development takes into consideration a vision that is cognisant of the fact that agriculture must continue to be a strategic sector in the medium to long-term for food and nutrition security, it must generate employment, reduce imports, and enhance exports of agricultural produce.
The focus on diversification of the sector is just one means of achieving this; there is also the promotion of food and nutrition security through the transfer of appropriate technologies, the statement said.
