MINISTER of Agriculture, Mr. Robert Persaud, has pledged $3.5M to help farmers at Mainstay/Whyaka on Essequibo Coast clear more lands and expand pineapple cultivation. Addressing scores of them at a meeting, in the newly built community centre at Mainstay, earlier this week, he said the recent El Nino weather condition, which lasted for some eight months, has devastated the Mainstay-Whyaka crop and seriously affected livelihoods there.
Persaud said the Government wants the planters to resume production for the processing factory to work at full capacity.
According to him, the Government will pay for cutting and cleaning of one acre of forested land for every farmer in the community while, at the same time, the farmer would have to, himself, cut an additional acre to quality for the assistance.
Persaud said the aim is to open new lands for increasing cultivation and production and 50 farmers will benefit from the aid package.
He explained to them that the El Nino crisis had serious effects on the sugar and rice industries, which experienced steep drops in production.
Persaud said assistance had to be rushed to hinterland areas, as well, for farmers there.
A representative of AMCAR, the company that exports organic pineapple chunks from Mainstay to the European Market assured Minister Persaud that they are still interested in continuing the business from Mainstay, although the EL Nino situation had threatened the international market because of short supply and some products had to be sourced from Sri Lanka.
Currently, some 200 acres are under pineapple cultivation in various stages of growth.
The factory requires 80,000 organically grown pineapples annually to transform into chunks but the production level is below half.
Residents of the producing community expressed thanks to the Government and Minister Persaud for helping to make more lands available for pineapple farming.
Also present on the occasion were Vice-Chairman of Region Two (Pomeroon/Supenaam), Mr. Vishnu Samaroo and officers of the crops and Livestock Division of the Agriculture Ministry.
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