– Ms Joan, the boss of NAREI’s Horticultural Station

The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI)’s Horticulture Station is situated at Kairuni, amidst hills and tall stretching vegetation. Approximately 35 acres of land is being utilized for the cultivation of 2,000 fruit trees (such as citrus, avocado, Carambola, cherry, billimbi and sour sop) and as research plots.

The facility is maintained by 10 staff (one forewoman and nine labourers). Ms. Joan Rodrigues-Klass is the forewoman responsible for supervising the operations of the Horticulture Station. From observing plants for pest and diseases symptoms, recording maturity period of fruits, to delegating daily tasks to workers are all part of her responsibilities.
She is respectfully called Ms. Joan by colleagues. Ms. Joan started working at the National Agricultural Research Institute (now NAREI) on May 27, 1999. She and her husband were given the opportunity to be the caretakers of the Horticulture Station. They lived in a humble house located on the facility with their five children.
At that time, most of the grounds of the Horticulture Station were uncultivated and there was thick vegetation. Ms. Joan, who once had a small farm in Moruca, Region One (where she is originally from) was ecstatic when NARI asked her husband to engage in land clearing for the creation of orchards. For her, the farming experience was like being home in the peaceful rural Amerindian community.
As Kairuni became home for the Klass family, Ms. Joan gave up her hat as a primary school teacher and had taken on farm life in full. Even without any formal knowledge on farming Ms. Joan was performing exceptionally well. To increase her knowledge, NAREI selected Ms. Joan to be a participant of a Food and Agriculture Organization workshop that targeted Nursery Management, and Data Collection, among other related topics. She values the knowledge gained from that workshop. In fact, the lessons learnt are what help her to effectively manage the Horticulture Station.
In 2011, her husband passed away. That was a challenging period of her life. Her partner was no longer around. But, Ms. Joan knew she had to be strong for her children. She is a proud mother, who relishes in her children’s accomplishments.
Of course, those five small children who played hide and seek and ran freely at Kairuni are now adults. Three of her children are serving the people of Guyana. Two of her sons are in the Guyana Defence Force (one is a Lieutenant and the other a Corporal), while her elder daughter is a Community Health Worker. Her other son is a machine operator and the baby of the family is pursuing a Degree in Economics at the University of Guyana.
At the age of 57, Ms. Joan enjoys walking the grounds of the Horticulture Station inspecting each plant. She does not entertain any thoughts of retirement. She is aware of the importance of her job and takes pride in doing it.
“I am dedicated to this work because I love farming and it is my sole means of providing for my family,” Ms. Joan said. (Contributed by Keeran Danny/NAREI)