…working with farmers to reduce list of imported items

GUYANA’s US$250 million food import bill could soon be reduced, as the National Agricultural Research and Extension institute (NAREI) continues with its effort to create import substitutes and increase production for food security.

For years, Guyana has been importing items such as corn, soy beans, potatoes, wheat, onions, garlic, milk and milk products, and even spices. These products, along with canned items, have contributed to the exorbitant food import bill.

The issue of a large food import bill is not specific to Guyana, since it was reported that the yearly cost of bringing in food to the Caribbean remain anchored at US$4 billion.
With the aim of exiting the high bracket, NAREI has started to explore the possibility of producing commodities such as corn and soy bean, specifically for the livestock feed industry, which expends in excess of US$20 million on imports.

“We have to look at import substitutions…we have to look at it on the basis that the food import bill is over US$250 million,” said Director of NAREI, Dr. Odhu Homenauth during an exclusive interview with the Guyana Chronicle on Monday.
He believes that if local farmers can manage to produce corn and soy beans on a large scale, it would have a major impact on the bill and the lives of farmers because the money will remain with them.

“We have been promoting the investment in the savannahs, where it is suited to do those commodities,” said Homenauth, adding that they have also been exploring the cultivation of onions, garlic, potatoes and spices.

Among the spices which they have started to experiment with is turmeric, which they started to grow in small quantities because of planting materials.

Last year, NAREI along with farmers started processing turmeric and by the end of this year the institute hopes to produce a quarter of what is imported. The larger aim, he said, is to reduce the quantity of imported turmeric by 50 per cent in 2020.

There are similar intentions for ginger, as there are plans to establish ginger processing facilities in Hosororo, Region One (Barima-Waini).
While there are plans to reduce the importation of certain items, Dr. Homenauth said Guyana has stopped importing sweet pepper because a lot of local farmers are involved in production of the commodity.

He said the same goes for cauliflower and broccoli, since farmers from Black Bush Polder and Linden are producing those commodities for the local market.
In addition, NAREI in collaboration with farmers has successfully cultivated onions. The institute said they hope to plant some 20 acres of onion this year.

“We are on target because we could do two crops…we identified farmers from across the country and we have 12-15 acres so far,” said Dr. Homenauth, adding that next year the institute will look to improve mechanisation and boost production.

With the cultivation of onions a success, NAREI is looking to replicate the effort with potatoes. The institute has identified two varieties of potatoes which will do well in Guyana.
Dr. Homenauth said the only setback to the cultivation of potatoes was the storage of planting materials.

Potato is a commodity which has to be stored at a certain temperature because it cannot go above 6-7 degrees.

In the past the institute did not have a facility to store planting materials, but last year they acquired assistance to construct a facility. The facility is being constructed and is expected to be fully operational within a month.

“With this facility we will be able to store large quantities of planting material…we have identified some of the areas where we will cultivate potatoes… you need to have a temperature difference of 6-7 degrees between day and night or else the seed will not germinate properly,” he said.

He believes that the institute is getting where it wants to be and once they are capable of producing potatoes, it can be done competitively based on the current prices to import potatoes.

“If we can capitalise on that market it will make a big difference…if we could get into that farmers in Guyana will be in tip top shape,” said Dr. Homenauth.