GUYANA has been promoting the coconut sector as an industry to capture the array of products, including coconut water, virgin coconut oil, activated carbon and craft that could be competitively produced. This was related by Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI).
According to Dr. Homenauth, coconut has been the main non-traditional export for Guyana for the past few years, generating an annual income of US$4.5M. The exports have been dominated by products containing minimal value addition.
“In terms of export value, de-husked coconuts account for 70 per cent, followed by copra (15 per cent), crude coconut oil (nine per cent) and coconut water (two per cent),” he said.
NAREI is actively involved in facilitating the expansion of the coconut industry, which has great potential. He noted that Extension Officers are constantly in contact with farmers to ensure good agronomic practices, effective management of pests and diseases, and access to planting materials.
He added that an important task of NAREI is to ensure productivity to satisfy the demands of agro-processors.
Currently, there are approximately 1,470 coconut farmers in Guyana. Some farmers, especially those operating in the Pomeroon, Region Two, have been making significant investments, hence increasing productivity.
There are seven main local manufacturers/ agro-processors who utilise by-products of the coconut. While they may focus on one or two specific by-products of coconuts, each part of the coconut could be utilised. There are other untapped value-added commodities which need to be explored.
According to Dr. Homenauth, “The negatives associated with coconut have now been debunked. In fact, from a recent report I have seen, coconut has 127 uses….These include uses for personal hygiene and the body, general health and wellness, internal health problems, topical health problem, pets/ animals, etc.”