In an effort to help mitigate the effects of the coronavirus pandemic faced by many Guyanese, the Rural Affairs Secretariat of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has launched an initiative to get persons to start their own kitchen gardens.
According to a MoA release yesterday, this initiative, which is part of the Ministry’s Rural Entrepreneurial Agricultural Project (REAP), aims to provide nutritional balance to families and a deterrence from toxic chemical use when maintaining healthy immune systems is priority.
De facto Minister within the MoA with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Valerie Adams-Yearwood, is encouraging persons to start their kitchen gardens, and stated that the Ministry intends to assist persons with their efforts.
“Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has implemented the REAP – Rural Entrepreneurial Agricultural Pro-ject, which will be implemented in all regions of Guyana. The Kitchen Garden Initiative, component two, will see persons receiving assistance to acquire small garden tools, seeds, irrigation and other planting material to get their kitchen gardens going,” Adams-Yearwood explained.
With the establishment of the Rural Affairs Secretariat in June 2019, the ministry says it was able to launch its first Kitchen Garden competition last November in Region Four; more specifically, the East Coast and East Bank of Demerara; in Region Five from Fort Wellington to Bush Lot; Region Six, from Number 53 Union to Kildonan; Region Nine, from Lethem to St Ignatius; and Linden in Region Ten.
With the success of the previous initiative and preparations for the second leg of the competition underway, Adams-Yearwood made adjustments to the initiative to offer assistance to persons finding it hard to maintain their food supply due to the challenges caused by the COVID19 pandemic.
She noted that with many persons out of a job, it may be difficult for them to feed their families with the necessary fruits and vegetables necessary to maintain a healthy immune system.
“It is important for persons to have access to nutritious fruits and vegetables to maintain healthy immune systems, as these help your body to fight off diseases and viruses. This is one of the benefits of having a kitchen garden – access to a variety of healthy and nutritious fruits and vegetables,” Adams-Yearwood declared.
She further stated that kitchen gardens help persons to save money, reduce their trips to public spaces like markets and supermarkets and promote recreational activities between family members.
Persons interested in taking advantage of this initiative can uplift an application form from the security at the Ministry’s head office on Regent Street, their Neighbourhood Democratic Council (NDC) offices or regional agricultural officers. Forms are also available on the ministry’s website at http://agriculture.gov.gy/publications/kitchen-garden-project-entry-form/.
After a verification process, registered persons will be given assistance in the form of vouchers redeemable at local or regional suppliers, to acquire seeds, small garden tools, irrigation material and other planting materials, needed to either establish or improve an established kitchen garden.
The closing date for registration is June 6th, 2020.
