As part of President Irfaan Ali’s One Guyana ‘Cut Rose’ project which is designed to create employment and create income for single parents, some 400 roses are being produced each week, according to the Department of Public Information (DPI).
The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is executing the project, which was assigned to the Ministry of Agriculture for implementation and supervision.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha said on Friday that the output is expected to increase to 800 roses weekly by the end of February.
The minister underlined that the President’s cut rose project is extremely successful since 400 roses are being harvested weekly.
This, he said, is a tremendous achievement for Guyana.
“It’s the first for Guyana here. We have seen here in Guyana that many persons who want to purchase roses are importing roses. Now, we are producing 400 roses on a weekly basis,” he added.
This will be a continuous process as it relates to producing more roses and supplying the market.
Mustapha said that another year from now, Guyana should be able to satisfy the entire domestic market, “where we can supply all of the roses that are needed. This will be a tremendous boost.”
Since its implementation, the project has made great progress with roses being harvested and sold.
Already, a number of single parents have been benefitting from the project, DPI said.
The minister said persons can purchase roses from NAREI for as low as $500 each.
“And when they take that back to the market, they are selling it [roses] between $2,000 to $2,500. So, you are seeing how much money that person can make. We have seen a number of single parents coming to purchase roses and rose proprietors coming to purchase roses,” Mustapha said.
By the end of 2023, through the project, it is anticipated that rose imports will be reduced by 30 per cent, while also giving single parents in particular, career and training opportunities.
Some 2,600 rose slips were imported from Brazil and planted in shade houses. There were 600 slips in each shade house, each in 25 different colour combinations, DPI said.
