THERE is a common children’s song that goes something like, “Old McDonald had a farm.”

Singing that song to children today might be irrelevant because not all farmers look like the “Old McDonald.” In fact, most farmers are nothing like the fictional old man in overalls at all.

These days, most small farms are run by women when they are not aiding their husbands in the fields.

In this week’s article, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) will feature a woman who is battling the fields and at the same time raising three young children.

And—while she is married to a farmer, she has been into farming long before she was married.

THE STORY OF LILAWATTIE PERSAUD

Lilawattie Persaud is 42-years-old and has been married to her farmer husband, Chaitram Ramdass, for the past 22 years. Together, they plant bora, tomato, watermelon, pepper and ochro in their field located at Little Biaboo, Mahaica.
Persaud said she has been into farming long before she met her spouse. “I am doing farming long. My parents use to farm and then I married my husband, who is a farmer.”

The mother of three does not believe everyone can do farming. “You got to like farming to do farming,” she said, while acknowledging that farming is difficult.
Persaud and her family live opposite their farmland. In the morning when they get up, they would go and check on their crops and in the night before they go to bed, they visit their field.
The couple, with the help of their three children, would usually spend the entire day in the field—watering, harvesting, weeding or planting crops.
“You really have to put your mind to it because sometimes you plant and you lose this crop, but then next time you get three crops,” Persaud said.
The woman does not have a problem when it comes to finding market since she would wholesale her produce to persons selling at the Mahaica market. She said too, that persons would usually visit her home to buy her crop.

In the next month, Persaud will be harvesting watermelons. Staff from NAREI are currently providing technical support and have been assisting the woman since she planted the melons. Additionally, NAREI’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Oudho Homenauth visited the woman’s farm and offered some advice.
He is expected to return to her farm in mid next month.