Mocha Arcadia farmers encouraged to diversify agricultural activities

The Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries, Crops and Livestock Saturday held an informative and interactive meeting with farmers of Mocha Arcadia, East Bank Demerara, on issues relating to crop cultivation, animal rearing and drainage and irrigation.


Seeds and herbicides distributed to farmers

This was done in keeping with Government’s initiative to diversify and expand agriculture on a commercial basis, in addition to ensuring that necessary conditions such as drainage and irrigation, appropriate technology and knowledge are present for high levels of production.

The meeting in the community was attended by Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud and managerial and technical staff of the Ministry. Crops and Livestock

In light of the farmers in Mocha Arcadia producing crops on a small scale, the Ministry has indicated that it will provide investment support to foster expansion so that crops can be produced in bulk for commercial sale. But this will be done on the merit of the creation of groups to promote better collaboration and to create competitive advantage and transparency.

A Needs Assessment Workshop will be conducted in the area on January 23 to ascertain the crops, livestock and technical support required by the community, Minister Robert Persaud noted. He indicated that the Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development Project Officers will meet with the groups to discuss specific needs which will lead to the development of a strategic plan to outline how these needs will be addressed.


Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud addressing farmers at Mocha Arcadia.

The Minister noted that the agriculture sector is aiming to gain a large market in the Caribbean for local produce. The Caribbean’s food import bill was approximately US$4 billion in 2009. If local production increases, the possibility of Guyana being a large supplier exists.

Crucial to that vision will be farmers taking on greater responsibilities related to providing ideas and contributing to the growth and development of the sector. The Minister emphasised that it should be a bottom-up approach since farmers have firsthand advantage on many issues surrounding agriculture. Minister Persaud also recommended that the farmers’ group be more proactive and explained that the Ministry has an open-door policy.

Recently, plantains and bananas were affected by a fungus-like disease, and since then, the Ministry has embarked upon sensitising farmers to certain measures to contain and manage the disease.

Samples of the fungus have been sent to Trinidad for testing so that the Ministry can determine what the disease is, its origin and its cure, Minister Persaud noted.

The proper management of cattle was discussed to address the issue of wandering animals on the roadways. Dr Dwight Waldron, Director of the National Dairy Development Programme, indicated that the pasture available for the cattle cannot accommodate the approximately 300 cattle in the area, and so the Ministry will implement a zero grazing system, whereby farmers will cut grass from the pasture and feed it to their cattle.

Minister Persaud noted that farmers interested in accessing new breeds of sheep and goats can do so, but only if they satisfy the criteria for ownership, since they are expensive.

To boost the management and development of livestock, Persaud noted that the Guyana Livestock Development Authority Bill 2009 has been passed and this will allow the centralised provision of services to farmers.

Drainage and Irrigation
The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) has been very vibrant in the Mocha Arcadia area to strengthen drainage systems and maintain the clearing of the drains and canals.


The two drainage pipes

Approximately $7.2M was expended on the maintenance programme for 2008/2009 period. These works were conducted by the farmers’ group and have prevented large scale floods. The Ministry currently has an excavator operating in the area clearing and cleaning overcrowded lands and drain.

In light of the El Nino situation the country has been experiencing, the Ministry has prioritised irrigation of lands, making water available to farmers for their farm lands. This, however, has to be done cautiously, since the area is prone to flooding.

After discussions with residents, the Ministry decided that there is a need to modify the layout of the drainage system. The Minister noted that the opportune time will be when GuySuCo retires the land for a one-year period, during which a pilot project can be conducted to identify areas that need regulation to prevent floods while irrigating certain areas.

At the end of the meeting with the Minister, officials from the Ministry met with farmers and discussed varying issues.

They also distributed seeds and herbicides to farmers who were present at the gathering. Two drainage pipes were also given to the community to be installed at strategic locations to aid the flow of water. (GINA)

SHARE THIS ARTICLE :
Facebook
Twitter
WhatsApp
All our printed editions are available online
emblem3
Subscribe to the Guyana Chronicle.
Sign up to receive news and updates.
We respect your privacy.