Markets wide open for Corentyne farmers
A variety of onions that will be ready for reaping shortly
A variety of onions that will be ready for reaping shortly

…as non-traditional crops take root

KILDONAN farmers Shawn Wynter and Tenogney Rambarose are excited about the prospects of their non-traditional crops at their respective farms in the East Berbice-Corentyne village.

Mrs Rambarose holds carrots which she reaped on Tuesday.

One of the farmers was able to produce and sell 40 pounds of onions recently, a project for which he received support from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). He has also had help with marketing from major supermarkets in Georgetown.
Wynter has been into farming for a number of years after returning to Guyana from one of the Caribbean islands, where he had been working for quite some time.

He began planting some peppers and celery in his backyard. However, the market was soon flooded with the crops and the prices were not favourable, so he decided to try something different.

He started with carrots, but wasn’t getting the desired results. However, with NAREI’s help, he started to make headway, as he was taught how to grow the crop the way it should be grown.

Now he is the proud owner of a small plot of carrots–just 2½ beds–from which he expects to reap somewhere between 50 to 70 lbs of the vegetable later this week. This would be his first successful harvest of carrots and he is quite excited.

Again, with NAREI’s help, Wynter has taken the bull by the horns and ventured into many other non-traditional crops, namely: Jalapeno peppers, purple cabbage, onions, broccoli, cauliflower and a variety of pepper that yields five different colours all at once.

Mr Shawn Wynter holds an onion shoot which was reaped during the visit.

He wants to expand on onions, since he has already secured markets for the produce in whatever quantities he can produce. He is also encouraging others to get on board and cultivate the lands with these high-end, non-traditional crops.

CAN’T COMPLAIN
“Everything is going good,” he said. “I don’t know why people are complaining. We can plant everything right here in Guyana; everything that we are importing is growing right here; these are produce that are in demand.

“I already have some seedlings in preparation to start again; so, as the market grows, we will have better prices and be able to meet the demand.”

Tenogney Rambharose, 37, of Nurney has been farming for some eight years, mainly traditional crops such as pumpkins. Then last year, she began branching off into non-traditional crops also, and has been reaping the rewards ever since. During the Christmas holiday, she was able to get premium prices for her onions and seasoning peppers, which has encouraged her to try other high-end crops.

She has found that with her small plot of land, she was able to earn as much as when she cultivated large plots of traditional crops.
What Rambharose and Wynter were able to achieve gives Regional Crop Extension Officer Candy Thomas-Batson hope that many more farmers will follow their lead as the region seeks to form a cluster of 20 farmers within the neighbouring villages of Nurney, Kildonan and Bush Lot that will be tasked with planting within three to five varieties of onions.

Cabbage that will be ready for reaping shortly

Batson explained that the onion project started in 2016 with funding from the Canadian Government, under PROPEL (Promotion of Region Opportunities for Produce Through Enterprise and Linkages). But due to a scaling down in activity, NAREI was brought on board to take over when the project ends.

“We are utilising the same farmers they started with, so that we can have the onions stretched out so that more farmers can adapt and let the acreage increase,” Batson said.
“Currently,” she added, “farmers are doing two and three beds, and as it progresses, they will increase to half and quarter-acre.”

COME ON BOARD
Batson, along with Kawal Mangal, extension officer for the Adventure to Number 63 villages, is encouraging farmers to come on board and be a part of the project, since they can earn lots more with far less effort. The team is optimistic that, especially with the diversification drive of the government and the demand for fresh produce, the timing is right to tap into the non-traditional crops market.

“NAREI is open to working with farmers; we need persons to get on board,” Batson said, adding:

“Remember, the importation bill is very high, and we want to be the leaders in this region who are able to produce for not only Berbice and Guyana, but to get to a scale where the Caribbean and the world see us as a viable source that can meet their needs.”

The team currently has approximately 15 farmers within the area, and is willing to work with a few more before branching off to another community, where the cycle will continue until the entire region is capable of producing the crops commercially. Persons desirous of being a part of the programme are asked to make contact with NAREI’s Tarlogie office, via telephone numbers: 325-3438 and 325-3439.

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