AFTER many years of being somewhat dormant, Linden, over the last year, has seen a noticeable increase in the establishment of co-operatives. These cooperatives range from youth and economic movements, but most prominently, agricultural cooperative movements.

As Lindeners better grasp the understanding that the town can no longer be solely dependent on mining as its main economic activity, there has been a paradigm shift in ensuring that the economy is diversified. Agriculture has been on the front burner by regional officials and Lindeners have realised that greater success can be reaped from adopting a united front in ensuring food security.

One recently-established cooperative, the Madinah Strait Agricultural Co-operative Society Limited, located in Wisroc, Linden, is progressing smartly in ensuring that locally produced food is available in Linden while simultaneously creating jobs and initiating a platform for agricultural development within the next five years.

Executive Member Kwesi Parks related that the co-op was established after he realised that for 23 years, Linden suffered tremendously because of marginalisation in the area of agriculture and it was time to change the rhetoric.

“We decided to come together as a co-op and start our own farm. We followed the advice of the President, who spoke about co-operatives, and we used that opportunity and got registered and so we are working with the government and with the Regional Chairman, Renis Morian, to see success,” he said.

The co-op is in possession of many acres of land but currently farms cash and permanent crops and rear livestock on about two acres. When harvested, these crops are sold in the neighbouring communities of Madinah. There are about 55 members of the co-op who take turn in tending to the crops and livestock. Those living in Madinah ensure that crops and livestock are given the daily care needed.

Presently, the executives are seeking avenues to purchase some form of transportation to assist farmers with getting back and forth, as the distance poses a challenge to many of them. After realising the strides that Madinah Agricultural Co-op has been making, Food for the Poor Inc recently donated several much-needed farming tools and equipment to the farmers.

VALUABLE SUPPORT
Madinah also receives overwhelming assistance from the Regional Democratic Council (RDC) and Regional Chairman Renis Morian which has played an integral role in ensuring the co-op’s success. The next step for Madinah, according to Kwesi, is to establish a wholesale market on the premises so that retail vegetable sellers can purchase at an affordable cost rather than to purchase from outsiders, which only allows the money to come out of Linden.

The members have also developed a five-year agricultural plan which will see more youths and women getting involved in agriculture and even the establishment of an agricultural school and a community centre in the area.

The plan is also to move from farming to agro-processing. Parks related that with the government providing the needed infrastructure and putting other systems in place, he is optimistic that the minor challenges faced with now, will soon be a thing of the past.
“We will soon have the Linden to Rockstone Road which will be part of the Linden to Lethem Road, which will bring in more traffic and more attention to us and not only because of that road, but with the oil on board, Region 10 really needs food security and so we need to take agriculture seriously. We don’t want what happened in 2005 when there was the flood to happen again. We need to come together and ensure we get this thing right,” he said.
Regional Chairman Renis Morian has been encouraging residents to come together and form co-operatives as development and progress can only be accomplished with the rhetoric, “We are better, together”.

The Ministry of Social Protection has supported the revitalisation of 170 co-ops, and registered 68 new ones from 2016 to date as government pushes for the revitalisation of co-operative movements in Guyana. One of the oldest co-ops in Linden, the Linden Utility Services Cooperative Society Limited (LUSCSL), celebrated its 60th-anniversary last year. The Ministry of Social Protection, Department of Cooperatives facilitates the process of registration of co-operatives.