WHETHER feeding the nation or contributing to the country’s economy, farmers are always ready to deliver.
When the global pandemic hit, farmers were faced with a monumental challenge to keep food supplies flowing, supermarket shelves full and a nation fed. Dubbed heroes, farmers were some of the key workers on the front line during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Diana Persaud, a farmer, agro-processor and the founder and owner of Arya’s Fresh Cuts, a wholesome food supplier of organically grown vegetables, stated that, despite the challenges and uncertainty that came along with the pandemic, her ever growing company has neither waivered in its ability to offer well-packaged crops to markets and consumers.
“The challenges led to positive outcomes. The period itself and the challenging times caused the business to change its outlook and it brought forth some positive changes,” Persaud said.
Persaud noted that the pandemic, in some ways, saw the business being pushed to its limits to provide for the nation and maintain food security with the creation of Guyana’s first, and still operational, fresh and whole foods website.

HOME DELIVERY
“Persons were still looking for safe and high quality food; they knew exactly where to turn and where to go to. It allowed us to increase our capacity and production, then we introduced the home delivery service which still continues today and so we are facilitating home deliveries from Enmore all the way to Grove/Diamond.”
Persaud noted that the company has been able to play its role in the country’s agriculture sector in ensuring that fresh produce is always on the shelves of supermarkets during the pandemic.
“Our relationships with respect to outlets and super markets continued to be strong and we did our best, during the time and during the year, to ensure that their shelves were filled with wholesome fresh and high quality food.”

Meanwhile, Jo-Ann Thompson, the founder of Kitchen Garden Organics, which is a local and fairly new kitchen garden business, has also been providing fresh home grown produce to the local markets in an effort to maintain food security during the pandemic.
Thompson disclosed to this publication that her initial goal was to provide produce not only to the everyday consumers, but also for restaurants and a few supermarkets.
“In terms of providing produce during the pandemic, it was a bit slow at first because I was trying to cater for restaurants but there were shut down too, so I started catering for one and two supermarkets.”

Thompson revealed that the initiative of her growing kitchen garden business came about during a rough patch amid the pandemic when she was temporarily laid off from her day job.
With being home and not much to do, the young woman started up a kitchen garden to provide for herself, fresh organic food. However considering the uncertainty of all that surrounded the pandemic, Thompson chose to share her produce with the nation.
Currently, Thompson grows lettuce, pepper, kale, tomato and citrus fruits in a small garden. She sells her produce pre-packaged to a few local consumers, supermarkets and restaurants.

MAINTAINING GUYANA’S FOOD SECURITY
When news broke of the country’s first case of the coronavirus in March, last year, Guyanese flocked the markets, almost in panic for fresh fruits and vegetables since there was a widespread necessity for healthy foods and intake of vitamin C.

During the time, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) called for world leaders to take measures to keep global food systems working well amidst the pandemic.
FAO Director-General, Qu Dongyu, in an online address from Rome to the G20 Extraordinary Virtual Leaders’ Summit on COVID-19 days ago, stated: “the COVID-19 pandemic is affecting food systems and all dimensions of food security across the world…”

He posited that “no country is immune…we have to ensure that food value chains are not disrupted and continue to function well and promote the production and availability of diversified, safe and nutritious food for all.”

RESILIENCE
However, it was reported by the National Agricultural Research and Extension institute (NAREI) that the country has adequate supplies of fresh produce and meat stock including chicken, beef and pork. Aside from importation of hatching eggs for the production of chicken and table eggs, Guyana is self-sufficient in the production of beef and pork, despite restrictions on air transport and closure of ports.

During the recently concluded debate on the 2021 National Budget, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, said that Guyana will develop an even greater agriculture sector, with the country being an “agricultural powerhouse”, with a strong, sturdy farming and agro-processing industry that serves the purpose of providing Guyanese with food security at all times, even acting as a cushion for the nation against times of challenges, and that generates jobs across the country, especially in rural areas, and that helps the public with national nutritional requirements.