– Partnership impacted the local farming community

AFTER years of making significant strides in the agricultural sector, the partnership between the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and Promotion of Regional Opportunities for Produce through Enterprises and Linkages (PROPEL) has ended.

PROPEL funded by the Canadian Government and implemented by World University Service of Canada (WUSC) assisted NAREI in the areas of sustainability, capacity building through training, and equipment support.

According to Dr. Oudho Homenauth, CEO of NAREI, “The partnership has progressed for some time now and has harvested positive results, some of which have been highlighted on numerous occasions…In fact this partnership has placed specific emphasis on promoting the cultivation and use of new crops and varieties, in this case, onions and potatoes.”

Through collaboration, the following key initiatives were administered throughout Guyana: Black Sigatoka Disease (BSD) Management Strategy; Pineapple Rehabilitation Programme; Crop Diversification through onion and potato production; and Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Trials.

BLACK SIGATOKA DISEASE MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Between 2014 and 2016, PROPEL supported NAREI to produce extension materials to manage the BSD that affected the plantain industry. Farmers subsequently received technical training to enhance the production of plantains. As part of the initiative, BSD Management Manuals and Tech Packs were developed and distributed.

Seven hundred farmers who benefited had adapted smarter farming techniques and gained more access to improved varieties. This resulted in better yields, improving efficiency in farming approaches and maximising profits. The quality of plantains available from these farmers was significantly improved countrywide.

PINEAPPLE REHABILITATION PROGRAMME
In 2016, PROPEL supported NAREI to address some of the pest and disease issues experienced by pineapple farmers. Focus was placed on the transfer of production management practices for pineapples as a means of improving quality to meet new and emerging market opportunities.

Sixty-five pineapple farmers from Salem, East Bank Essequibo; Bonasika Creek, East Bank Essequibo; Linden/Soesdyke Highway and Canal No. 1 & 2, West Bank Demerara participated in the programme. They received extension service support, training in crop nutrition, and pest and disease management.

Each producer was provided with four different insecticides and a plant growth regulator. Through farmer to farmer contact and experience sharing, recommended practices were disseminated to the wider circle of pineapple producers. A year later, PROPEL’s Agricultural Extension Facilitators visited the farmers in the programme and reported widespread changes in the pest control approach among producers and significant increases in production in the pineapple producing communities.

CROP DIVERSIFICATION
In 2016, action-oriented research and demonstration plots for potatoes and onions were carried out for Guyana. Despite the inclement weather, the potato and onion trials yielded evidence that these two crops can be commercially viable. BLT Enterprises supported the potato trials while Health 2000, Massy Industries and Agro-In supported the onion trials. Each of these trials proved that these crops can be central to a market systems approach to agriculture development based on an import substitution and export-oriented approach.

A year later, PROPEL in partnership with NAREI and the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) hosted a Taste Testing forum inviting key officials to sample some dishes prepared using the locally grown onions and potatoes. This was done to examine consumers’ perception of the taste and preference of different varieties of potatoes and onions that were harvested. The event saw the participation of the Canadian High Commissioner to Guyana, His Excellency Pierre Giroux along with representatives of other key organisations.

ENVIRONMENTALLY SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE TRIAL
NAREI, PROPEL and input suppliers Health 2000, Massy Industries and Agro-In in partnership with farmers cultivating pineapples, vegetables and plantains conducted an Environmentally Sustainable Agriculture Trial (ESAT) whereby a comparative analysis was done to assess the performance of organically based agro products and conventional agro-products on crops.
The majority of producers were aware of the use of environmentally friendly farming and the benefits of using organic inputs have been observed. Some noticeable or favourable results of trial plots included:

• Extended shelf life for trial plots of crops such as bora and tomato
• Production of more fruit/higher yields
• More uniformed fruit
• Increased fruit sizes
• Better quality fruit
• Decreased incidence of pests and diseases

Farmers will continue using organic inputs due to the observed benefits mentioned above. They are now prepared to buy these inputs if they can be guaranteed a steady supply. Farmers also stated that the use of organic products will be better for aquatic life, which has been seriously depleted because of the amount of pesticides used in cultivation.

NAREI’S SOIL TESTING ABILITY BOOSTED
The soil testing capacity of NAREI was enhanced thanks to the PROPEL project through the donation of a LaMotte Soil Test Lab with reagents. NAREI is now able to provide farmers with recommendations following on-the-spot soil test for liming requirements, nutrient levels and fertiliser content.

CAPACITY BUILDING
Participatory Farmer Field Schools
The FFS participatory approach helped NAREI, PROPEL and other partners to provide critical capacity building to farmers who adapted to their local contexts so as to increase agricultural production and improve livelihoods.

This approach provided a forum for the exchange of experiences and expertise among farmers and extension officers, and helped farmers to learn by doing and provided them with the tools needed to analyse their practices and identify solutions to their problems.

The Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and PROPEL provided trainers to conduct several capacity building sessions focused on ‘Facilitating Participatory Farmer Field Schools’, for extension officers and technical teams of input suppliers who usually engage with farmers. The training covered aspects of modern extension techniques and emphasised ways to implement a participatory farmers’ field school for producers.