… promotes smart blend of agriculture and technology
Agriculture diversification is now being adopted and practised in several Amerindian communities, in sync with government’s policy to ensure that Guyana remains food secure. Thursday, Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai and USAID Mission Director Carol Horning, accompanied by officers of the ministry and other representatives of USAID, visited one of the agriculture cultivation projects under the Guyana Trade and Investment Programme (GTIS) supported by USAID.
Minister Sukhai acknowledged the success of the project which she said is a model that ensures both food security and agricultural expansion in a sustainable manner, since it not only involves agriculture for the community, but for export purposes, as there is a ready market for the products.
This, she said, will yield immediate benefits to the people in Hararuni, Soesdyke, and in other regions also, as the model is simple and cost effective and would also appeal to young people as it promotes agriculture with a blend of technology which involves the technique of drip irrigation.
Minister Sukhai believes that as long as the markets are guaranteed, projects in the agriculture sector will succeed.
She is optimistic that this type of agriculture model can be promoted in many communities, particularly those that have proposed agriculture projects in their community development plans.
“This project is going to transform the village economy. I see it as laying the foundation for transforming the economy of the villages which is mostly subsistence. It will also lead to the involvement of the resource that resides within the villages … there are productive activities that can be successful, that will engage the human resource in the village in addition to raising income,” she said.
Government’s policy to advance and support agriculture diversification is supported by the Hararuni project which demonstrates that a small community can promote its own development and food security.
The USAID Mission Director also noted the success of the Hararuni project which has been in existence for just over one year.
The project has transformed the community from one that produced only traditional crops into one that currently uses low cost, technologically advanced methodologies to produce quality crops that are in high demand, Horning said.
Horning is also convinced that agricultural diversification is a good way to promote economic growth and create jobs; and since Guyana has ideal conditions for agriculture, it can supply the Caribbean with its agricultural exports.
She also hopes that the project will have a ripple effect so that other villages will want to replicate it.
The farm currently produces butternut squash, onions, bora, cucumbers, papaws and sweet peppers.
Project Manager of the Hararuni project, Vivian Fredricks, said that in order to minimise mistakes, training is provided at every level of the project and every employee of the farm has been trained in the use of the fertilisers and chemicals for pests and weed control on the farm.
Training is provided by USAID Agribusiness Technical Leader, Nir Dahan. (GINA)