GUYANESE have the capacity to be and can be anything to which we set our minds. Ever so often when this is proved given the pessimism, political, self or otherwise, it is worthy of noting. The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), that has formed a partnership with the World University Service of Guyana, recently announced Guyana’s potential to engage in large-scale cultivation of onions.

This vegetable has been a staple of Guyanese diet for ages and during the period of serious economic downturn, when its importation was restricted, the outcry was visceral and political. The same can be said for ‘Irish’ potatoes, which too had similar treatment. NAREI in April advised of Guyana’s potential to cultivate this ground provision on a large scale, with the potential to save the country reportedly over US$4M on importation and attract scarce foreign exchange country exportation.

It is tempting in light of these revelations to engage in the ‘what if’, such as, “what if Guyanese rather than complain, condemn, flee or throw their hands up in the 1970s-1980s had sought to intensify research and development (R&D) on these and other products?” Reflection on this serves as a reminder that where there exists a will, a way can always be found and where dreams are driven by goals, with hard work they can be achieved.

The period when Guyana was doggedly pursuing economic self-sufficiency, be it in food, manufacturing, energy and so forth, the contributing factors that hindered full pursuits of this await contextual and objective analyses and it can only be hoped that academics in our midst consider the worthiness of studying this period of our history.

It is said that necessity is the mother of invention, but at the same time it cannot be ignored the human element that would make shy efforts to so pursue. Guyana has to get it right and the news of possibilities with the aforesaid cultivation, though may serve as vindication of earlier views, needs to be nurtured. Such nurturing may require facilitating needed support, including more R&D, storage, marketing, tax incentives and whatever is needed to make these products possible, from seedling to consumption.

Our Monday edition in addition to covering NAREI’s findings on onions also carried a story on coconut cultivation in The Pomeroon, Region Two. Every aspect of this commodity has usage and market demands be it for consumption, household artefacts or otherwise. This fruit, seed and nut, for according to botanists it is all three, can provide products from its delicious, thirst-quenching and nutritious water, to cooking oil, broom, bags, cosmetics and toiletries, to name some.

The admirable undertaking of Vilma DaSilva and Roopan Ramotar of The Pomeroon in forging ahead with this product, penetrating and supplying domestic and foreign markets confirm the Guyanese ingenuity and entrepreneurial spirit and the employment and economic opportunities they have been able to provide others. Then there is the issue of water, and while the country’s name Guyana is derived from the language of our First Peoples, meaning land of many waters, many have gone without, have had to trek distances for, or have been compelled to create innovative means to store it.

The Guyana Water Incorporated under the leadership of Dr. Richard Van-West Charles has been carrying an ambitious but doable programme, themed: “Ensuring Equity and Improving Quality” to make potable water accessible to all . Within the past few months, several communities — hinterland and coastal — have been the beneficiaries of this commodity and some for the first time. According to the World Health Organsiation, “water is essential for life” and where efforts are being made to make it accessible to all, such represents effort not to deprive persons of this commodity. Water is used in every facet of our lives and its importance to man’s wellness and development cannot be discarded, devalued or over-emphasised.

Guyana can rise, but it requires all efforts by business, government, cooperatives, other stakeholder organisations and citizens to steer her towards the trajectory of self-sufficiency, which also includes recognising the importance of multi-pronged approaches. Striving for development would be more tedious and also deferred relying on few products and wanting to remain as primary producers.

The economy cannot produce the needed revenue for sufficient growth and the people’s holistic development, relying only on precious minerals, bauxite, sugar or the proposed royalty to be garnered from oil and gas, including stagnation or satisfaction remaining a primary-producing country when the human capacity exists to do better. Guyana needs much more and where potentials exist, including that of value-added production and in other sectors, they should be explored and exploited to the fullest, consistent with acceptable guidelines.