RAJKUMAR Ramcharran is a farmer of Bonasika Creek, Essequibo River, and he has been farming all his adult life.

He is insistent on upkeeping the family tradition of farming despite challenges. He is still at it, doing what he must to earn.

The 47-year-old told the Pepperpot Magazine that he is originally from Parika, East Bank Essequibo, but grew up in Bonasika Creek, Essequibo River.

He recalled his father was a farmer and had a launch (boat) and he used that to transport his produce from the farm to the market.

At 19 years old, his father gifted him some farmlands and he started farming on his own as an adult.

Ramcharran stated that his parents used to live and farm at Mole Island, which is across the creek from his house, and they later relocated to Bonasika Creek, rearing cows and farming.

He stated that he is from a family of nine siblings.

“There is a great need for a secondary school here because there are a lot of school-aged children and due to difficulties in getting to secondary schools on the West Coast/Parika as such, we have a lot of drop-outs,” he said.

Ramcharran added that after his father advanced in age and subsequently passed away, he inherited the farmlands and continued in good stride to work the land.

“According to the tide, you have to get up and start the journey at midnight to get to Parika to sell the produce, and it is a difficult task at times. This takes place every week on Thursday for Friday morning market,” he said.

The framer explained that before his father passed away, he supported him for 10 years, and after all his siblings left for greener pastures, he remained to continue the farming.

Ramcharran has three transported plots behind his house at Bonasika Creek, and he cultivates watermelons, pumpkins, limes, apple bananas, seasoning peppers and he recently started a crop of red beans.

He related that the cost of living in that riverine community is high due to the increase in food prices, gas, chemicals for plants, and fertilizers.

Ramcharran has school-aged children and a daughter attends the secondary school at Stewartville and the transportation for her to get to school adds up.

He is a volunteer with the Community Policing Group and a full-time farmer.

Ramcharran added that life is fair sometimes when things are in favour, but transportation is often the issue, noting at the same time they have some advantages living in such a place where they can fish and grow their own food.

“It is a lovely place to live as you can see my house is right on the bank overlooking the creek and the air is fresh and life is simple. It takes hard labour to earn and one must contend with just farming as their livelihood,” he said.

Ramcharran explained that farmers need some assistance in terms of dredging and an upgrade in the drainage network to have a good production of crops.

He reported that Bonasika Creek was one of the places that was hard-hit by the flood and they had to re-start planting all over again.