Last Sunday was one of those days when fruit and vegetables ‘was lickin dog’ (one of those colloquialisms employed to describe a glut of food items on the local market) at the Farmers’ Market close to the Georgetown Fire Station. It happens in times of near perfect weather when nature and bounty ‘deliver’ in near total harmony, sending the market into a tailspin, a rollercoaster ride if you will, evoking a sense of excitement amongst buyers and sellers alike. It is a phenomenon which no other CARICOM territory can match, not even remotely.
Delightfully healthy-looking tomatoes were being retailed at $200 per pound. Alongside the mountains of tomatoes were other bargains too … like six to eight remarkably healthy-looking mangoes at $200 per heap. On Sunday you could also buy six heaps of calalloo for $200 and pineapples, usually price-elusive in times of relative scarcity, could be bought for $100 each. Meanwhile, okra, peppers, generous slices of pumpkin and four very eatable-looking cucumbers were each being retailed at $100. Left with just $200 at the end your shopping ‘spree’, you could still make a choice between three or four sizeable boulangers and a pound of ginger. There is hardly an alternative spectacle that can better symbolize the power of Guyana’s celebrated agriculture sector.
The interaction among the farmers and vendors provided an education on the culture of the Market.
