Even as conventional ‘high street’ businesses closed their doors having been left with little option but to ‘wait out’ the coronavirus pandemic, small businesses in the agriculture and agro-processing sectors have had to apply themselves to creative ways of keeping their enterprises afloat. Drastic revenue declines and supply chain disruptions have left them with razor thin reserves and in some instances on the verge of coming to a complete standstill.
Working these past few months almost exclusively by telephone, the Stabroek Business has been staying in touch with some of these small operators, sharing their stories and in some of the more poignant instances, their challenges.
Charity Market has become known as a landmark coastal ‘trading post’ where buyers and sellers meet. They converge there from locations as far apart as communities in Region One and in the capital, Georgetown. The fruit ‘offerings’ from farmers in the Pomeroon are, by far, among the best that the country has to offer, while consumers are known to travel from Region Five and further to purchase the high-quality cassava bread, farine and casareep brought there by the agro-processors from Moruca. Their products sold, the Moruca vendors would purchase vegetables, chicken and various other household items to take home with them.
