GROWING up in the serene community of Paramakatoi, Region Eight, young Celpha Simon was exposed to farming. Amidst the tall trees and mountains, Celpha’s family planted mainly ground provisions for sustenance. Assisting her father daily on their farm ignited a curiosity about growing crops.

While she was of great help to her family on the farm, her parents ensured that Celpha acquired a formal education. She graduated from the Paramakatoi Secondary School in 2005 and ventured out into a new world. It was time for Celpha to accomplish her dream of one day understanding the science behind growing crops. She was awarded a Government of Guyana Scholarship to study at the University of Maximo Gomez Baez Ciego de Avilla in Cuba.

“Most of my ancestors were farmers and thus from young while working along with my father I grow a passion of cultivating most of the crops. I wanted to learn physiology of plants, physical and chemical properties of soil, and wanted to improve production and implement ideas to primitive way of farming in my village,” Celpha said. “Last but not the least I wanted to show my people farming can be a very lucrative business and not just the way to substantiate family income.”

Following years of hard work and dedication, Celpha Simon is now an Agronomist. She is employed with the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) as an Extension Officer, assisting farmers in Region Eight. She is currently stationed in Paramakatoi and is integrally involved in the Sun-Dried Tomato Project.

Her desire to improve the livelihoods of farmers through improved agricultural practices is happening “slowly but surely.”

“At first it was hard to get the wheels rolling. A major challenge was getting the male farmers to take advice from a female officer, on from traditional ways of farming. However once the wheel roll over this obstacle, momentum picked up. Now with everyone working along together, my farmers and I can tackle farming issues head-on with maximum impact,” she noted.

Building a strong respectful relationship with farmers proved helpful, especially in fulfilling demands for the Sun-Dried Tomato Project. NAREI is responsible for supplying seedling and provision of technical support also in the post-harvesting stage. The Institute also explores possible natural pesticides from commonly known plants around the area.

Celpha said, “I find this project exciting. It keeps me busy especially the experimental part. Growing organic tomatoes has an important role to play at Paramakatoi this initiative is aimed at rejuvenating local low-cost use of neem as a biocontrol agent as well as introducing a local plant hayari in combination with locally grown pepper. It is meant to serve as a sustainable-agriculture initiative for the future generation.”

While she is engrossed in her current work, the agronomist has a vision for Guyana. She believes that Guyana could become self-sufficient in agricultural production with the hinterland having a pertinent role.

“I think we can expand agriculture in the hinterland regions by introducing more exotic crops such as potato, grapes, strawberries etc. Furthermore, this can be done by having a strong, effective and intelligent agricultural team in each region of Guyana and these regions work together, then Guyana has a greater chance of once again being the breadbasket of the Caribbean,” Celpha believes.