RESIDENTS of Mocha-Arcadia, East Bank Demerara, showcased their many skills and talents at a Farmers’ Market Day on Sunday. Contrary to what the name suggests, the event was not restricted to farmers and was open to everyone, so that residents of the community may be able to exhibit their wide range of products to the public. The event, which was held at Second Bridge and Main Access Road, Mocha-Arcadia, was the second held in the community, the first being in December 2020.

Persons at the event displayed a gamut of products ranging from agricultural produce, natural hair products and cosmetics, ornaments made from recycled materials and food products, all locally produced. One of the organisers, Professor Pat Francis of the University of Guyana Institute of Research, Innovation and Entrepreneurship, told this publication that the idea of the event was birthed after they recognised a need to stimulate the villages’ economies.

“The main idea behind all of this is that each community within Guyana needs to grow more, produce more and our collective efforts will help to stimulate the whole country, creating jobs, and to stem the tide of all of the imports,” Professor Francis said. She highlighted that the farmers’ market is far-reaching in terms of allowing and providing residents within the community the opportunity to foster their creative side.

“It’s not just the market, it’s about the people in the village for us to capture their creative energies and through the university, some of the things that we intend to do and which we are doing now, is to facilitate those businesses which have innovative components to bring it to fruition,” she explained.

To further develop the initiative, Professor Francis noted that the university intends to take it to another level by establishing processing facilities within the community, so that primary-level produce can be transformed into manufactured goods. This would create a diversification of products and shy away from saturating the market with one type of product. The aim is to supply beyond the community and to export the products regionally.

“We don’t want everybody planting and then there is no place for them to market their products [sic], so we’re going to move it from primary production into secondary and tertiary production,” she said, adding, “We are going to vertically integrate what is happening on the farm and what is happening in the homes, bringing things together so that we can hit the local market and at least the regional Caribbean Community (CARICOM) market.” Raeburn Jones, Chairman of the Mocha-Arcadia Multipurpose Agricultural Co-operative society, explained that the event allows residents to do some networking and marketing of their products.

He pointed out that as a result of the last Farmers’ Market Day in December 2020, residents were able to create “linkages” which allowed them to sell their products to persons even in the absence of the market day. Jones said the co-operative society is heavily involved in development of the community. He made specific mention of the labels that are branded on the products, noting that this was made possible by the training facilitated by the co-operative society in collaboration with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

Meanwhile, the Guyana Chronicle reached out to a few of the vendors at the market to gain some insight into their products and their perspectives in relation to the initiative. Myrlene Cave, who makes multipurpose ornaments from recyclable products such as plastic bottles, said that she was happy with the initiative since it gives her an opportunity to recycle and sell her craft at the same time. “Instead of throwing away stuff, we recycle because it’s less pollution to the community as a whole,” she noted.

Kareema Liverpool, owner of K&S Healthy Choice, makes food products and condiments from locally sourced ingredients; she shared similar sentiments, noting that the event allows residents of Mocha to market their locally produced products. Bre Ramsay, who sells her locally produced “Bre’s Skincare Body Butter,” was elated at the customer support; she described it as “amazing.”

Shevon Tappin said that the market allows her to showcase her creative side as she gets to sell her plant pots that are made from bath towels and cement. The event was organised by the co-operative society in collaboration with the Mocha-Arcadia Neighbourhood Democratic Council with sponsorship from the International Decade for People of African Descent – Guyana (IDPADA-G), the FAO, the IICA and the Ministry of Agriculture.