Dear Editor,
I see that Guyana’s ‘Agricultural Investment’ is paying great dividends, and I will isolate just one example of this. Earlier in the year, with the overall aim of being self-sufficient by 2025, the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Administration made a commitment to see the cultivation of corn and soya bean in the intermediate savannahs. This was when the 2023 National Budget allocated some $1.2 billion for infrastructural development in Tacama, where soya is quite autochthonous.
Now the fruit of such planning and hard work is emerging, as the ‘corn and soya bean project’ ongoing in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice), has yielded over 160,000 tonnes of corn and soya, with the consortium looking towards replanting as soon as possible.
This is so encouraging and feeds the flame to keep at it, but in a bigger way.
As I flip through the incipient stages of this realisation, I recall how approximately 18,000 acres of corn and soya were planted in the Tacama Savannah in Region 10, by a consortium of companies that included Bounty Farm.
And look at these impressive details: “162,000 tonnes of corn and soya bean have since been harvested-including 108,000 tonnes of corn and 54,000 tonnes of soya bean”, both of which are relatively new crops to Guyana. No wonder, David Fernandes, the assistant Managing Director of Bounty Farm, was optimistic that future crops would result in higher yields.
Editor and readers, I bring to attention the wider implications of this ‘corn and soya bean project.’ It is no slight matter that the PPP/C and their charges are into. We know that soybeans and soy foods may reduce the risk of a range of health problems, including cardiovascular disease, stroke, coronary heart disease (CHD) and some cancers, as well as improving bone health. Soy is actually high-quality protein, as one or 2 daily servings of soy products can be beneficial to our health. The beans contain hormone-like substances (called phytoestrogens) that copy the action of the female hormone oestrogen. It is thought that soy can reduce menopausal symptoms (such as hot flushes).
There is more to ‘chew’ on and ‘digest.
Research has shown that about 4 daily servings of soy foods in conjunction with a diet low in saturated fat and cholesterol can reduce our LDL (bad) cholesterol by around 3 to 4%. This LDL, as we know, is a big issue worldwide.
On the actual working side and in terms of strategic work, it is common practice that corn and soybeans be commonly rotated on many farming operations, as they have different growth habits, nutrient needs, and pest and disease pressures. Rotating these two crops can help to improve soil health, reduce pest and disease pressure, and increase yields. Corn is well-known as a heavy feeder crop.
So irrespective from what angle we think of, this is a really great thing that Guyana is pursuing.
In fact, Fernandes, echoing my sentiments, explained that if good weather prevails, they are looking to possibly replant corn and soya next month. He noted that “We have everything on track to plant this November, but the only thing we don’t have control over, is the rain. And that would be the only consideration for us not to plant a crop of corn or soya bean. But nevertheless, we would still plant a cover crop of millet or something like that on the entire land, to make sure it’s covered for the rains that will come in December.”
I am so excited that “Guyana has aspirations of being a net exporter of corn and soya by 2025. In the feed industry, Guyana imports close to US$30 million in products annually. The aim is therefore not to just attain self-sufficiency, but establish the country as a net exporter of soya.” In this regard, the Government, last year, improved access to the area by constructing 40 kilometres of road, with the remaining seven kilometres scheduled to be completed in 2023. What this means is that more can be achieved and with greater ease.
I await impatiently.
Yours truly,
HB Singh
