FARMERS of the small agricultural community of Baracara, located along the Canje River, will soon receive a boost in their agricultural production following an intervention by Agriculture Minister Noel Holder and a team of officials who visited the community on Thursday.
Residents of the community had complained about the lack of financing and markets for their produce along with poor drainage and irrigation, forestry leases among others. Chairman of the community, Glenton LaFleur, spoke of the effect pests and diseases have on their production, but said too that the issue of soil deficiency is of major concern to the community.
“We have over the years been a major supplier of cash crops to the nation, however, this has been on the decline in recent times due to a lack of access to market…,” said LaFleur. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr. Oudho Homenauth, committed to assisting the community with fertilizers and chemicals and noted that with respect to soil deficiencies and marketing, a team of extension officers and officials from the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) will visit the community soon to work with farmers in that regard.
Meanwhile, General Manager of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation, Ida Sealey-Adams, told the residents of ways they can not only tap into local markets through the support of her organisation, but also ways in which GMC’s marketing experts can assist in value-added production.
The concept of contract-farming between purchasers such as the GMC and suppliers featured prominently in the general discussion and according to Sealey-Adams, oftentimes there is a glut of produce on the market, leading to low prices being offered for agricultural produce. While this can be a major deterrent, farmers now have options to do value-added production which is now the ‘new thing’ in agriculture. “You mentioned the glut of tomatoes for example. We can assist you in making of tomato pulp for tomato paste. These are all options you as a community can venture into to boost your livelihood,” she said.

Addressing the issue of the depletion of the genetic base of cattle raised by residents of the community, CEO, Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA)Nigel Cumberbatch, said the authority can assist in not only residents access to quality breeds of bulls at a reduced cost, but look at the possibility of Artificial Insemination (AI).
The GLDA has a successful artificial insemination programme ongoing and has been offering the services to farmers across the country. In 2016, the authority successfully completed 2028 AIs as opposed to 2105 in 2015. For the first quarter of this year, 819 were successfully done.
Meanwhile, CEO, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) Fredrick Flatts, committed to sending a team of engineers on Tuesday to the community to address their irrigation and drainage woes. According to Flatts, the community, which has access to abundant lands, can be even more productive with the development of proper drainage and irrigation structures.
Subject Minister Noel Holder underscored the importance of agriculture to the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and noted Government’s support to the sector. Holder said oftentimes farmers who live in far-flung communities are at a disadvantage when accessing services.
“You are the ones first to be at a disadvantage. However, my team and I have embarked on a number of outreaches to address farmers’ issues countrywide. The sustenance and improvement in your livelihood is important and through the respective agencies and departments within the Ministry of Agriculture, we will be looking at ways in which we can assist you,” he assured.
Meanwhile, as it relates to leases by the Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), Minister Holder committed to raising the issue with the subject minister. Minister Holder was also accompanied by Chief Hydromet Officer, Dr Garvin Cummings, and the Prime Minister’s representative for Region Six, Mr. Gobin Harbhajan.