By Naomi Marshall

MINISTER within the Ministry of Agriculture, Valerie Adams-Yearwood, on Thursday, announced that a shade house would soon be built in Ituni to foster greater farming activities in the community located in Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice).

Minister Yearwood made the announcement during a simple handing over ceremony in Ituni as she distributed uniform materials to parents of school-aged children.

The shade house initiative forms part of the Regional Democratic Council, Region 10 Agriculture Programme aimed at promoting food security and self-efficiency among residents of rural areas within the region.

Shade houses, similar to greenhouses, allow for cultivation of crops in a controlled environment. Through ownership of one, the average Guyanese interested in agriculture can become a self-employed entrepreneur and contribute to home-based vegetable production for the family.

The structures have ‘UV’ plastic roofing and walls, complete with a shade mesh that prevents solar radiation and other mesh to keep out insects. Ventilation, irrigation and control systems add to the creation of a control situation for cultivation, facilitating higher productivity of cash and high-value crops.

However, unlike the greenhouse, the shade house is not completely enclosed and that marked difference in the infrastructure is what sets the two apart.

This initiative will not only provide employment for residents of the community but it will also promote community cohesiveness, since residents of Ituni will be pooling their labour resources to build the shade house.

According to Minister Yearwood, the residents will be paid and provided with materials and guidance on how to construct the structure through training sessions which will be facilitated by persons trained in shade culture.
According to Yearwood, construction of the shade house is expected to commence next week.

Giving remarks at the event was the Regional Agricultural Officer, Region 10, Derick Collins, who noted that in January 2019, Region 10 was given the approval for the introduction of an agricultural programme which is being planned and budgeted for at the level of the Regional Democratic Council.

“With that being said, one of the major programmes for Region 10 is the establishment of shade houses in rural communities and even resuscitating agriculture in the schools by giving them shade houses,” Collins explained.

He noted that residents will also be educated on how to properly utilise the shade house in an effort to secure optimum benefits.
The house will be managed by the Community Development Council (CDC) and all proceeds will go to the development of the Ituni community.

Thirty-two-year-old Keon Liverpool, a resident of Ituni, told this newspaper that he is excited about the initiative. “I feel great that the government in the whole showing a little light on the community because we never experience this before so for me, so far they going good and I like if they can continue to giving their support.”

Meanwhile, Yearwood presented students of the Howell Wilson Primary School, located in Ituni, with uniform materials and back packs. The minister, who hails from Region 10, took the materials and school supplies to the logging community after being told of the difficulties faced by parents there.

In addition, minister presented the ‘Ituni Super Fem Women’s Group’ with two easy-to-use full size sewing machines which will be used to sew school uniforms for the children of Ituni free of cost.

The machines will also be a means of generating income for the women’s group which aims at empowering women of the community.

Resident of Ituni, Onika Fraser, has three children who benefitted from the initiative. Fraser stated that that she feels pleased because she is a single parent and preparing her children for school is sometimes a hard task.