‘Agriculture has money’
Buxton farmer Patrick Howard displays one of his giant pumpkins to Finance Minister Winston Jordan and other officials who visited the area on
Wednesday to check on the projects being funded through the Rural Agricultural Infrastructure Development (RAID) programme (Adrian Narine photo)
Buxton farmer Patrick Howard displays one of his giant pumpkins to Finance Minister Winston Jordan and other officials who visited the area on Wednesday to check on the projects being funded through the Rural Agricultural Infrastructure Development (RAID) programme (Adrian Narine photo)

…Minister Jordan tells Buxton RAID Project farmers

MINISTER of Finance Winston Jordan on Wednesday travelled with a team into the backlands of Buxton to check on progress being made on the farms, and listen to farmers’ concerns as he continued his visits to projects being funded through the Rural Agricultural Infrastructure Development (RAID) programme.

Farmer Randy Benjamin spoke to Minister Winston Jordan about drainage in the farm area (Adrian Narine photo)

The minister was accompanied by officials from the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) and National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI).
The minister was very pleased with the work done so far.

“I am very encouraged. Agriculture has always been a mainstay of this economy. Agriculture has money, agriculture has the capacity to absorb large numbers of people. It is perhaps the only sector providing food, employment, income, and foreign exchange. So we can’t go wrong focusing on agriculture as a means of diversifying the economy,” Jordan noted.

Minister Jordan’s visit came just days after the Buxton farmers were visited by Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder.
Buxton is one of four communities covered for works under the RAID project. Mocha, Triumph and Ithaca also received support under the $318.6M project, which is being funded by the Caribbean Development Fund (CDF).

Farmer Michael Dover (left) receives a water pump to assist on his farm (Adrian Narine photo)

Farmers present during the visit were very pleased to have the opportunity to speak with the minister, hear his suggestions and show off some of the produce the farms had already produced.

Fifty-nine- year- old Patrick Howard was quick to ask the minister what he thought about a collection of pumpkins picked from his farm.
A GMC representative advised that Howard would need to follow a number of quality- control measures, if he expects to see his produce exported. The GMC is working along with the farmers in a capacity- building position. They engage the farmers in training on proper farming practice to improve their businesses.

Howard had much praise for what the RAID initiative was doing to encourage farmers to return to the lands, which many had left at one point, because of lack of proper infrastructure and support.

“I was waiting for this opportunity for a very long time, because is now I gon’ really prove myself as a farmer,” Howard remarked. Howard had suffered major losses at his farm and had scaled back his efforts. However, a few months ago, with the support being injected into the area, he has returned. He has some five acres of farm lands.

Minister Jordan tests his farming skill by helping a farmer water his plants (Adrian Narine photo)

“So much bush had taken over and at one time I had gotten frustrated because of the kind of things that were happening in the early days,” Howard shared.
Across the road from Howard’s farm was Randy Benjamin, who proudly noted that he was one farmer who never gave up on his farm, even when things had become difficult and others had abandoned lands.

He was grateful to see the farms being revived and spoke to the minister about his concerns about the drainage around the farm. The minister listened intently and offered suggestions.

Benjamin had a large supply of watermelons on display for the minister.
“I am thankful for the little help, it’s just that you would find some hiccup. Everything takes time and you must get a little hiccup. What I am asking for is just a little assistance to get the drains them dig out and I would satisfy with it,” Benjamin said.

The minister placed special emphasis on enquiring about the female farmers allocated lands in the backlands. However, he was informed that most of the women preferred the livestock farming at their homes. Nonetheless, he said more must be done to make the environment more conducive for the women.

Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan (right), speaks with farmer Patrick Howard about his pumpkins (Adrian Narine photo)

“Are they afraid? Is there anybody who can encourage the women farmers? We need to encourage women in agriculture. It’s not only about getting a certificate or diploma from GSA; but if you get that it’s now to get people with a plot of land and apply what they learn. So I would hope that more women will be seen to be part of this. And not have the traditional way of just men doing it, and women doing just a kitchen garden,” the minister commented.

The farmers also spoke on the issue of farm- to- market roads and the minister suggested utilisation of the waterways as a better means of transportation for the produce.
“There are water ways, we should talk about farm-to-market waterways. These water ways just need to be cleaned and with rain it would be easy to get the produce out. Once the drains are desilted and so on I think it’s easier to bring the pumpkin and watermelons out by boat. So that part we have to focus on –using our water ways more,” Jordan noted.

Jordan informed the farmers that a lot was riding on their efforts, as much had been invested and other communities around the country were looking to the RAID project farms as leading examples.

“It has evoked a lot of interest country wide. In a sense, these four villages are demonstration villages. So these villages and the people that are here farming, the onus is on them to show how farming can move from being just a vocation to actual employment and business. I would like to see this succeed,” Jordan said.

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