FOLLOWING the closure of the Rose Hall Sugar Estate, Dennis Campbell became a full-time farmer. Campbell who worked with the estate for over 20 years invested a portion of his severance from the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) to set up a shade house on his farm.

Campbell has always been involved in farming at the subsistence level. The crops harvested were consumed by his household and any surplus was sold within the community of Sisters Village, East Berbice. However, within the past two years, the former cane cutter began focusing more on establishing a farm for commercial purpose.
“I used to plant all the time but on a small scale but when it was announced that the estate was going to close I began placing more emphasis on the farm. Farming was my backup plan to continue earning money,” Campbell said.
Hot and sweet peppers, celery, red beans, and bora are among several other crops he usually plants in open field. But, their vulnerability to pests and diseases oftentimes affected the output of his farm. As such, Campbell knew he needed to plant under shaded conditions but did not have the financing to do same. Thankfully, he overcame this hurdle using his severance.

Campbell related that “My last bean crop was affected by pest and it really cost me. I was really looking forward to that crop. Long now I wanted to get build a shade house because of the benefits but didn’t have the money. So when I got my severance I used about $50,000 to set up the shade house.”

“I sourced the shade plastic from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) at a cheaper price than the market price and purchased the wood from the sawmill to make the shade house. I already plant celery under it…I plan to plant sweet and hot peppers under it cause it big…it is 80ftx 20ft,” he added.

The 56-year-old man has begun conducting market research to determine crops that are currently in demand and would be required for the Christmas holiday. The intention is to plant crops that have a high price on the market.

“Whenever I harvest my crops I would sell to wholesalers and market vendors. Also, my sister sells in the market so I would sell to her…like how the Christmas season coming up I want to plant the bell sweet pepper using the shade house…I will make the best use of the shade house because I waited long for it,” Campbell said.