– how farmers are embracing climate-smart agriculture to boost food production

By Ravena Gildharie
AMIDST erratic weather patterns and an ever-changing environment brought about by climate change, farmers and agro-producers countrywide are rapidly embracing new practices, techniques and technologies to build resilience, and influence a new era of climate-smart agriculture in Guyana.

Whether it’s the use of greenhouses along the coastland to grow high-end produce which were once highly imported, such as red cabbage, broccoli and bell peppers; or planting cassava varieties that are more weather-resistant in the Rupununi, local agro-producers are learning how to grow food year-round in the most controlled, cost-effective and economically viable manner.

In Region Five, Dhaniram Ramchand is one of the largest farmers using greenhouse technology to grow lettuce, bell peppers, celery, eschalot, tomatoes, parsley and other

crops. In this format, produce are grown under regulated, shaded conditions using UV plastics and/or nets that guard against harsh weather conditions and keep out pests and diseases. He combines it with drip irrigation, another technology farmers use to ensure water and nutrients are applied to crops in a regulated drip system. This is ideal for farmers during the dry season and in areas where the farms have limited or distant access to water sources. The water can be pumped into tanks and stored for dispensation to the crops through hoses/pipes laid along the cultivation plots with small openings to reach each plant.

“I apply fertilisers through the drip system too, and I have been promoting it among the farmers because it is less labour and cost. You get more time for yourself and you don’t have to be in the farm for all those long hours,” Ramchand outlined.
On his farm at Bath Settlement, West Coast Berbice, he has three large shade houses, each measuring 25 feet width by 80 feet length. One, he explained, is an imported pre-fabricated greenhouse comprising UV plastic, while the other two are locally built.

“The pre-fabricated greenhouses are very expensive and the farmers won’t be able to afford that. So, we have been building shade houses incorporating some of the imported materials with local materials and this is making the technology more affordable…A shadehouse like the size of mine would cost about $300,000 and this is using the shade nets,” Ramchand told the Pepperpot Magazine.

The UV plastic, imported from locations such as Israel, the United States, China and England, costs about $70 000 per roll and can last for up to five years, depending on the manufacturer. The price for the nets is cheaper, but varies based on supplier.
A former extension officer with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Ramchand, aside from producing, encourages expansion of shaded farming, by building shade houses for other farmers. He does this as a private service and imports the UV plastic and nets. He offers technical advice too, supplies seedlings and materials from his private plant nursery and sells agrochemicals.

He has set up farmers’ groups with 56 producers, including women, single-parents and youth.
“Region Five, I think, is one of the regions leading the way, especially where shade houses, drip irrigation and hydroponics are concerned. Almost all farmers have a small shade house because they are seeing the benefits. It saves time and money. There is less labour cost and the rain or sun don’t affect our production,” Ramchand said.

Growing agriculture investments
“Farmers are adapting to climate change because you see agriculture is big business, and we have the land and we are adopting the technology to boost our business,” said the farmer. He supplies D. Singh and Sons and Massy Supermarket, but would soon sell to Giftland Supermarket and Pizza Hut. He feels that agriculture has seen a takeoff since farmers are becoming climate conscious and planning strategically to operate in a more structured business style.

Many farmers use shaded technology to grow fruits and vegetables specifically for export and leading supermarket chains, hotels, restaurants and food distributors, which previously depended on imports. Today, lettuce, sweet peppers, broccoli, cauliflower and tomatoes are readily available in attractively packaged and fresh out of farms that are certified for export by the Ministry of Agriculture, once the producer and farm meet necessary requirements.

Large investors such as J.T Mekdeci and Company Limited, branded under Savannah Premium, specialise in the production of exotic fruits and vegetables, using greenhouse hydroponics farm and mulching technology.
Additionally, the growing agriculture sector keeps attracting more investments including overseas-based Guyanese, re-migrants and international investors. At St Lawrence, East Bank Essequibo, re-migrant David Apariso is developing a large-scale, modern self-sustainable organic farm. So far, 20 acres of land are being prepared to accommodate a plant nursery, barn house, three shade houses, beds for crops and a pig farm. His farm uses hydroponics too and he is aiming for the export market.

Beni Sankar, one of the most popular local agricultural investors, is teaming up with Chinese investors to create a mega farm at Blairmont, West Coast Berbice. He told this publication that land preparation and soil testing are ongoing, while the farm awaits arrival of two massive greenhouses being imported from China. Measuring 26 feet width by 130 feet in length, each greenhouse is intended to grow up to five different types of exotic vegetables.

Further, the investors, are the first in Guyana moving towards cultivation of quinoa, a grain crop used for cereal or as a rice substitute.
Originally from a traditional rice-growing family, Sankar said “quinoa would be revolutionising for Guyanese farmers. It is much easier to grow than rice, because you need [sic] much water to irrigate and it don’t require much work.”

These forms of progress are impressive to NAREI’s Chief Executive Officer Dr Oudho Homenauth, whose entity supports farmers to build resilience to climate change and other emerging phenomena. NAREI continues to partner with non-governmental organisations to develop and introduce new techniques and technology and the farmers have been responding well.

“During the long rainy season we had recently, and before that, the drought, the prices for some of the high-value vegetables remain in full supply and at stable prices. As in the past, when you had rain or long, dry spells, the commodity would become scarce and price would go up almost immediately,” Dr Homenauth observed.

Climate-smart farming
Dr Homenauth noted that aside from the technology, NAREI works with the farming community to adopt climate-smart practices such as growing varieties that are more resilient to changing weather conditions. The institute has already developed rice and cassava varieties being commercialised by farmers.

The extension officers work with farmers also to plan their activities such as land preparation and drainage and irrigation methods, as well as the type of control mechanism for pests and diseases likely to arise with each weather pattern. They advise producers on low-soil fertilisation, when not to burn and best water-retention crops.
“I am very impressed with the way how farmers have adjusted in light of [the] changing climate. In the Mahaica Creek for instance, crops are not affected by flooding during the rainy season, because the farmers know now which areas are flood-prone and they plant on higher grounds,” Dr Homenauth explained.

NAREI has demonstration farms at various areas to educate farmers on new practices and technology, teaching them how to boost their production too. Food For The Poor Guyana, Partners of America,the International Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and more recently the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) have lent support to climate-smart agriculture in Guyana through various initiatives targeting farmers.

Fitzroy Valentine of La Grange, West Bank Demerara, is one of the farmers who have benefited from such initiatives. He was introduced to shaded technology, hydroponics and organic cultivation, which he quickly accepted. He told the Pepperpot Magazine that his biggest challenge now is meeting the mounting market demands, especially for his organic produce.

He has two farms, one at La Grange and another at Friendship, East Bank Demerara. On the latter, he specialises in cultivation using hydroponics, growing plants without soil, and using mineral nutrients in water solvent. He grows a variety of crops, including watermelons, squash, beet, cucumbers, carrots, and dispelled the perception that hydroponics is expensive and limited to only a few produce.

Born and raised in a farming family, Valentine said he had been producing since age 12, but only began a more controlled system of agriculture with climate-smart planning after the 2005 flooding, which he dubbed a “disastrous experience” that he can never forget.
Valentine operates his organic farm in partnership with his son-in-law, Rampertab Etwaria, a young University of Guyana graduate.

Increasingly, more young people are gravitating to agriculture, including Ameer Ahamad of Hague, West Coast Demerara. At just 27 years old, Ahamad gave up his full-time job in Bourda Market to farm, which is proving more economical. He uses shaded technology to grow a variety of vegetables, which he sells to nearby markets. He is currently looking to expand the shade house cultivation.