Last Sunday was one of those days when fruit and vegetables ‘was lickin dog’ (one of those colloquialisms employed to describe a glut of food items on the local market) at the Farmers’ Market close to the Georgetown Fire Station. It happens in times of near perfect weather when nature and bounty ‘deliver’ in near total harmony, sending the market into a tailspin, a rollercoaster ride if you will, evoking a sense of excitement amongst buyers and sellers alike. It is a phenomenon which no other CARICOM territory can match, not even remotely.
Delightfully healthy-looking tomatoes were being retailed at $200 per pound. Alongside the mountains of tomatoes were other bargains too … like six to eight remarkably healthy-looking mangoes at $200 per heap. On Sunday you could also buy six heaps of calalloo for $200 and pineapples, usually price-elusive in times of relative scarcity, could be bought for $100 each. Meanwhile, okra, peppers, generous slices of pumpkin and four very eatable-looking cucumbers were each being retailed at $100. Left with just $200 at the end your shopping ‘spree’, you could still make a choice between three or four sizeable boulangers and a pound of ginger. There is hardly an alternative spectacle that can better symbolize the power of Guyana’s celebrated agriculture sector.
The interaction among the farmers and vendors provided an education on the culture of the Market.
On Sunday, late in the afternoon, we witnessed one such exchange. At around 17:00 hrs. we ‘eavesdropped’ on an exchange between two vendors, both farmers, it seemed, over an ‘offer’ by one to part with a crate of tomatoes at a ‘wholesale price’ of $40 per pound. It was one of those ‘crazy’ offers that sometimes arise at the end of a trading day when impending darkness evokes an urgency to ‘close off’ for the day. Still, a good bargain does not justify throwing caution to the winds. The potential buyer was cautious. He wanted to examine the tomatoes having been duped earlier with a bag of boulangers which he had bought for $8,000 but which, upon close inspection, turned out to be soft. The negotiation, it seemed, was still left hanging.
We felt fortunate that Mohammed, a Mahaicony farmer who travels to the capital thrice weekly to sell tomatoes and cherries at the Farmers’ Market, and his wife Donna, agreed to spend ‘five minutes’ with us before heading home. It seemed that strategically, David had decided to ‘wait out’ a period to afford the potential buyer time to make up his mind about the tomato offer. The Mohammeds are an engaging couple and David is a reflective man. The two have been married for more than forty years. He understands the challenges of his profession and is philosophical about the ups and downs of the couple’s fortunes. When we asked him about his fortunes as a farmer his response, though informal, is no less instructive. “Sometimes you make a [profit], sometimes you just sell…but that’s my life and yes…it is nothing much but it will not spoil and I am happy that he is considering buying,” he added, referring to the unfinished negotiations that we had just witnessed.
Several years earlier, before becoming a farmer himself David had worked in the rice industry, applying fertiliser to rice crops. The chemicals had affected his health and frequent spells of dizziness had compelled him to find an option.
Donna spoke eventually… about their life and their family. Farming had afforded the family of thirteen – the union having produced eleven children – a reasonable livelihood. They have been ‘grounded’ in farming for four decades. Time was when they reared cows, sheep, chicken, goats and pigs. Animal rearing takes its toll so, over time, cows were ‘dropped.’
These days, the Farmers Market apart, they make occasional vending trips to the Bourda Market. Those trading days begin at around 05:00 hours. Time was when they depended on public transport. These days they own a car of their own. They had begun their farming lives with two pigs and over the years their stock had expanded to include cows, goats, sheep and creole chickens.
These days, their sense of endeavour has become tempered by age and the physical rigours of doubling up as farmers and vendors. Their children have ‘moved on’ and the Mohammeds lead now quieter, more reflective lives. Their visits to market have been reduced and the time spent trading has also been cut. Still, they continue to resist the appeals of their children that they ‘call it a day.’ Their response is simply that they don’t know how to stop working. Instead, they have made incremental compromises, gradually reducing their work load.
The pigs, the chicken and the sheep, the tomato plants in their backyard – remain at the centre of their lives. There is a market for eggs and chicken through the shops and families in their community. The pigs are sold to buyers who visit the farm to buy ‘in bulk.’ The stealing and slaughter of livestock by raiders is a constant bother. Two years ago the couple lost fifty-seven pigs to thieves. It was, they said, a huge setback but they have since picked up the pieces. Quitting, they say, is not an option.
We got much more than our promised five minutes with David and Donna. Afterwards, their attention returned to the potential buyer of the pail of tomatoes.
