Dear Editor,
Many people have to destroy their forests in order to continue with large-scale farming. That might mean that we have a sort of advantage over very large-scale producers on the world-stage. We do not have to deforest. We have the Demerara lowlands, primed and ready and since we would not deforest, one might be safe to assume, at least for now, that our stock of usable land for field crops is somewhat constant. By that view, our challenge would then become to answer the question: which field crop mix is best or most optimal? Which crops would generate more downstream value? Which ones would create the most employment? Which ones would be safest to produce with respect to our health? Which ones would be cheaper to transport or store? Which crops could earn us both foreign exchange and local revenue? Would we be able to avoid the use of harmful chemicals in their production? This is an interesting optimization problem to me. There are many factors to consider in the precise use of our lands, especially in the context of low-carbon development. Yet, there might be more than a few compelling arguments for corn and soy.
Investors are seriously considering corn and soy as potential field crops in Guyana. There are many possible uses for these crops, one of those being for biofuel. It might be possible in Guyana to deploy biofuel buses. Perhaps a special biofuel bus could be invented just for us, in much the same way that the double decker bus was invented for London. The roads are narrow in London, as they are in polderized Georgetown. So in London they decided to make a bus that could fit into the narrow lanes, while maintaining the bus’s capacity. We could add to that, the requirement that our buses be shorter in length, maximizing employment and achieving some degree of transference from the current mini bus industry (another interesting optimization problem). Bus depots could be placed strategically. Perhaps one near the Mandela-Eccles segment, where it might more easily receive biofuel from off a future interstate highway – like one in the highway zone in which the Ogle-Diamond segment is envisioned. Biofuel bus depots need servicemen, drivers, conductors and administration. What if field crops could also become biofuel in Guyana, to power not only agriculture revenue streams, but a transitioning transport sector, creating massive employment along the way while protecting the environment?
Sincerely,
Emille Giddings
