MINISTER of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, last Thursday, reaped the first batch of crops from the ‘Grow Box’ that established at the beginning of Agriculture Month, in the Ministry of Agriculture compound, Regent Road and Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown.

The Grow Box is a system of cultivation in an enclosed box-like structure, which, in this case, was made from concrete hollow blocks. The material used inside the box does not contain soil but rather organic waste, such as paddy shells, filter mud and white sand.
A press release from the Agriculture Ministry said it is important to note that materials such as paddy shells and bagasse can be considered environmental hazards, especially in residential areas after being burnt.
The release also stated that the produce from the grow box is totally organic and took approximately five weeks to reach full maturity and is now ready for consumption.
“The main reason for highlighting the grow box technology is to showcase how simple agriculture has become today and, moreso, can be practised in settings where there is limited land space, such as urban or suburban areas. The grow box can be established on concrete or any surface that is not suitable for agriculture, as well as, on top of soil,” it added.

Several benefits
The grow box method has its several benefits, for instance, there is no need to do soil tilling, weeding, application of chemicals and fertilizers; nor to grow under shade, which is only applicable if the farmer wishes to have it.
Neither is there need to build beds every time you wish to plant. Planting can be done on high tables if persons are living in a flood prone area and the list continues, the statement said.
It emphasised that the grow box can be considered an innovative technology for urban/rural farmers and residents to reduce their cost of purchasing food for the family and can even be used in large scale agriculture.
A survey done by the Guyana Marketing Corporation, a grow box similar to the size at the Ministry of Agriculture can save a family of two to five persons between $70,000 and $200,000 per year, the Ministry reported.
It pointed out that, while a wide variety of short term crops can be grown successfully in a grow box, the one at the Ministry of Agriculture, was used to cultivate lettuce, pak choi, sweet peppers, hot peppers, tomatoes and cabbage.
The Ministry release said celery and eschallot will be included in the next batch, as well as broccoli and cauliflower.
Members of the public are invited to visit the Ministry of Agriculture and have a look at the grow box. Ministry employees will be available to help interested persons in establishing their own grow boxes, so that they can start farming using simple technology and reduce the efforts and hard work of the past.