Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and a team of officials visited Kairuni and Long Creek on Saturday to identify and address problems affecting farmers’ livelihoods as well as to check on the progress of earlier initiatives.
According to a Govern-ment Information Agency (GINA) press release, farmers voiced concerns about Acoushi ants destroying their crops and about more farmlands being made available for cultivation. In response, the minister said farm sanitisation has to be a daily process. “You have to constantly deal with it. Some-times you have to even destroy the plant, and do crop rotation. These are some of the things that we have to be engaged in, but a team has been set up at the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI), to deal specifically with plant diseases,” he said.
Persaud also urged farmers to make full use of the services provided by the New Guyana Marketing Corpora-tion as prices are determined by trends in the global market. “We in Guyana have to introduce new varieties; we cannot forever rely on the same vegetables, we are bringing in new varieties of other crops, but you have to recognise that it is what you are accustomed to selling, and consumers want,” he said.
The minister also said government is aiming at ensuring that every farmer understands the business of agriculture. He also advised them to work in groups to avoid being exploited. “That is why we are emphasising the cluster approach. Farmers must come together and be more organised so when we engage exporters and others we are doing it together in strength,” he said. Persaud then urged them to participate in the diversification programme since it would significantly increase their earnings. “We have decided that at a strategic level we want big farmers and big farms, but we have developed programmes, like the diversification project that are aimed at supporting small farmers,” he said. The Agriculture Diversification Project makes provision for farmers’ involvement in fruits and livestock.
As regard the request for additional lands for cultivation, Persaud told the meeting that there has been some amount of corruption at the Lands and Survey Depart-ment which is currently being rectified by the Office of the President as it falls under its purview. “There are some social issues that need to be addressed and that is why it is not an easy task to resolve the land issues,” he said, adding that 50 surveyors are currently being trained both at the private and state levels to facilitate and deal effectively with new land currently being opened. Persaud also pointed out that even though the issue of land does not fall directly under the purview of his ministry, it still has a major role to play in ensuring land coordination.
Additionally, the ministry will be allocating $2M for the purchase of two chainsaws and other tools to boost drainage. Persaud told farmers that they would have to provide labour. “Work such as these do not fall under the Ministry’s National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), but because we want to help the community, the works will be done shortly,” he said.
