With the country not being able to maintain a consistent supply, a Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) expert has been working with local cherry farmers to boost output.
A FAO release yesterday said that while the demand for the West Indian Cherry (Acerola) remains strong, especially for use in the fruit juice industry, the country has not been able to maintain a consistent supply and some local fruit juice producers have had to rely on imported concentrate to meet their demand.
To address these supply issues, over 170 stakeholders participated in a Training Programme held from February 7 to 10, 2023. Among the participants were cherry farmers and representatives from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the New Guyana Marketing Corporation and the Tropical Orchards Products Company (TOPCO).
The release said that the training formed part of a project of the FAO focused on the Sustainable Development of Resilient Value Chains and the Implementation of the CARICOM COVID-19 Agri-Food Recovery Plan.
The training in West Indian Cherry production sought to help the country boost its production for local market consumption by addressing some of the technical production challenges. Some of the primary areas of focus included good agricultural practices to help in improving yields and helping farmers to manage Anthracnose, a major disease that affects cherry trees. Specifically, participants received classroom training and were taken to cherry nurseries to receive hands-on instruction in orchard management, soil management, irrigation, pruning, fertilization and nutrition, pre- and post-harvest handling, propagation, grafting and pest and disease management.
The release said that Chandreka Lall, a farmer who participated in the training remarked that he learnt a lot about grafting and budding which will help in his production. Similarly, Dexter Van-Veen, from TOPCO said that the training was informative, especially regarding the planting material being used, and helped him to realise how cherry production could be improved.
The trainings was delivered by FAO Tree Crop Expert, Dr Rogério Ritzinger, who will continue to support the National Value Chain team in Guyana in the production of cherry to use the techniques learned during the trainings.
Dr Gillian Smith, FAO Representative for Guyana said in the release “our aim is to help build a resilient, inclusive, and sustainable value chain. By increasing knowledge and skills in good agricultural practices among all stakeholders involved in the chain, Guyana can achieve its objectives of improving its production, in an environmentally responsible way, while promoting food security and the consumption of locally grown produce”.
