“FARMING in Berbice is like a culture for us and then as a little boy growing up, I gained the love for farming from one of my uncles who was a graduate of the Guyana National Service (GNS).

“When he returned from the National Service he really impressed me with the way he did things on the farm and through him I saw farming in a professional way; everything was unique and nice and so I actually developed that love for agriculture,” Manager of the ‘Fresh from the West’ farm, Pearce Ifill told the Pepperpot Magazine.

He said that even though he was seriously farming for over 15 years it was after going to Linden that he started to focus on commercial farming – looking at farming strictly from a business perspective, noting that “farming is not a past-time affair, it could be a business just like any other business.”

BUSINESS NAME
Ifill explained to the Pepperpot Magazine that in his seriousness to meet the needs and demands of people in and outside of the Linden area, he found it necessary to create a name for the business – Fresh from the West. He said that it started out with an advertisement, which was telling people: ‘Buy smart, buy local’; that in so doing people are spending their money within the community and at the same time making it possible for the creation of jobs locally, particularly within their own community. “I kept telling them that when you spend your money out of Linden you are investing out of Linden and so creating jobs for people outside of Linden too.”

He advanced the reason that as people repeatedly started hearing about ‘Fresh from the West’, they began to buy-in to the idea, especially because, as he pointed out, they are getting everything fresh from his farm on a daily basis. “Trust me, I don’t have a problem with marketing my products within or outside of my community now and I live a comfortable life,” he stated.

TEACH A MAN TO FISH
Ifill told the Pepperpot Magazine that adults should accept responsibility for the work he or she does and to do their best at every opportunity. “I believe that if the government teaches a man to fish; once the man knows how to fish he doesn’t need to beg anymore. So, the government has done their part and now I am left to do my part. They have put infrastructure in place and as a farmer, it is now for me to produce and find the right market.”

He said that because of his very serious interest in the business of farming he is determined to not only supply the entire McKenzie and Wismar areas, but also to be able to supply many other parts of Guyana. And to ensure that this happens, he explained that he has been planting a very large variety of cash crops for supply to the market on a daily basis.

WEST WATOOKA
When the Pepperpot Magazine visited Ifill’s ‘Fresh from the West’ farm, what he earlier said about the access road to his and other farms within the community being in a very bad state, was confirmed. While the road is passable it is indeed difficult to traverse and is possibly out of reach to some vehicles.

Ifill, however, explained that while some amount of work is being done to the market road, there is a dire need for urgent attention to be given to the access road to the farm, especially because of the rainy weather being experienced at this time. “But while we are waiting for proper work to be done to the access road, we as farmers who have to use the road every day, sometimes pool our resources and do some work to the road – we do not just sit down and wait for the government to assist; we just try to fix it for ourselves until better can be done.”

FINANCING AND OTHER CHALLENGES
Expanding his business is high on the agenda for Ifill, since he feels that once his produce is labelled ‘Fresh from the West’ there is no difficulty getting them off his hand. However, he has been encountering some amount of challenges in relation to finances to advance his plans. He reported, for example, that getting finances through LEAP has proven unsuccessful so far, leading him to commercial banks for assistance.

So far his focus is on creating shade houses, as well as opening up his business in the area of poultry rearing since there is a need for this in the market, he said.

“I am comfortable to make these advances in the market because I know what I do and I do it as a business… I take it very seriously; I just don’t sit back and relax. I assess the market, I see the needs and then I execute,” he offered.

He said that he finds the time to be out at the market and at the same time make all his plans, which are then carefully implemented. “I can do all of these things because I understand good management,” he indicated. He said that after setting a programme in place on his farm in the mornings, he is then able to go out at the market to ensure that all the available produce are out there and to be able to manage the business properly as well. Later in the afternoon, he has a similar routine at the farm to ensure that his planned programme has been accomplished.

Climate change and all the challenges that go with it is another factor that Ifill encounters as he manages his farm. He gave an example of a very large crop of tomatoes, which should have lasted through for at least a four-month production timeline, but he was only able to get one month from it. This was a big loss, he said, noting that for reasons such as these he is in need of the shade houses.

TRAINING FOR FARMERS
Ifill said that while he has gone through a number of training sessions, which he is now benefiting from, many of the other farmers have not been that fortunate. He has therefore expressed the view that should the other farmers experience adequate training they will be able to gain much more success with their farms.

He also called on the farmers in Linden, especially in the West Watooka community to take farmers more seriously – as a business venture, where they can manage their farms, supply the market and live comfortably.

“The general farm practice for us in Linden is good and it is safe, so as we grow and as we expand, there is no stopping of us here. Our produce can stand the test of time outside of being refrigerated without going bad because we know what we are about,” Ifill concluded. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)