RECOGNISING the need for improved measures of testing soil quality and reducing the amount of time, resources and energy in cash crop production, the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday held a one-day workshop at Grand Coastal Hotel, Le Ressouvenir, East Coast Demerara. 

The event, which saw the participation of farmers from small, medium and large scale entities was well attended.
Speaking with the Guyana Chronicle, Regional Area Officer with the Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development (READ) Project, Randy Beckles explained the purpose of the event in providing training and information which will lead to “overall increases in production.”
Beckles told this publication that the expected outcome from the activities is that farmers will be able to gain knowledge on effective soil management. Minister in the Ministry of Agriculture, Ali Baksh, who was also at the event, welcomed

the contribution of people skilled in agriculture and their contribution to meeting food demands in Guyana and the Caribbean.
“You are an integral [and] important element within the Ministry of Agriculture and within Guyana. You are… the producers, farmers who are playing a very significant and important role in feeding our nation… the Caribbean, South America, and Central America.”
Baksh called for the large scale development of cash crops which were traditionally introduced hundreds of years ago by those in the field of agriculture. He also noted the demand for products produced locally which have the quality of being marketed internationally.
While small, medium and macro-scale farmers continue to produce the necessary crops, Minister Baksh said that Guyana has capitalised on this. “We are packaging a lot of products today and we are exporting a lot.” He added that some products are being bottled, destined for international markets.
In a call for increased productivity, the Minister called for the blending of “science and technology to develop agriculture.” Baksh said too that since Guyana’s climate allows for only dry and wet conditions, farmers should “organise and capitalise on a market that sometimes has scarcities.”

SOIL TESTING KITS
The Minister made presentations of Soil Testing Kits to some of the farming groups at the event. With a message of encouragement he told the groups that “the soil testing machine will help sometimes to grow crops round the clock.”
He observed that “It is the first of its kind of implementation to rural communities [and] to simple farmers,” he said.
Baksh said that the tool kits will not only save time, but also money and energy in determining the soil quality. “It will give you a better opportunity in analysing practically with a small instrument.”
And this will eventually see an improved quality in the future, “where you will be able to have more advancement in terms of your knowledge and to enhance production and productivity for the benefit of yourself, your family and for the benefit of all of Guyana,” Minister Baksh said to the gathering.
Speaking with this newspaper, Ganesh Balkrisia of the Shields Town Community Development Cooperative Society Limited, welcomed the content of the workshop. He explained that one of the major problems facing farmers in his

community is that “you have to wait until the crop is actually growing to see the defects.”
He said that with the soil testing equipment, farmers will be able to determine in advance what is needed for a better yield.
The young farmer, when asked, disclosed that he manages a plot covering some 70 acres. Balkrisia welcomed the READ project saying that it has not only helped farmers to set up effective irrigation systems but “now with the soil testing equipment, we will be able to hopefully increase the productivity level of that area.”
Another farmer, Deodatt Seodatt identifying himself as the Secretary of the Parika Naamryck Ruby Farmers Progressive Organisation, said that being involved in the training session has opened his eyes to how critical soil testing is for farmers and the community.
He too said that there is some uncertainty when adding nutrients to the soil since the outcome isn’t always clear, but with soil testing then farmers will know what micro-elements are most effective.
Seodatt said that while soil and water samples have previously been tested by the technical persons at the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), the farmers will now have an added sense of security since the results of those tests are , considering the crops produced.
Stating one concern with how long the kit will last, the farmer however expressed his satisfaction in having a general idea of how the soil content, which influences the crop produced, can be improved.
(By Derwayne Wills)