Dear Editor,

REFERENCE is made to “Processing plant for soya bean production by February 2023” (Sep 9).  I wish to commend the Agriculture Ministry and the Minister for its /his experiment on growing soya and corn with the expectation of moving into commercial production to feed the country and the region.

In light of growing shortage of various foods, accompanied by rising demand and prices, the country must grow more foods. Food prices have been going through the roof.

Based on the numbers provided by the ministry, there is relatively good yield if it is soya, not bad for Guyana which is experimenting with this new crop. With the right agronomic sciences, from people who study the subject, the yield can be significantly increased.

I am currently in Minnesota visiting a Guyanese-American, Sham Moteelall, a Berbician, in the farm country. He is the only Guyanese large-scale farmer I know of in the USA. He is the only Guyanese farmer in Minnesota. He gave up a professional career in crop sciences and agronomy and business management to grow food. He focuses on crop sciences to grow food sustainably. He has been a successful farmer— running profit annually when others may lose money. I learn a lot about farming from a scientific perspective from this Guyanese scientist and business management specialist, Sham.

I studied Biochemistry for my first undergraduate degree. The field requirement also includes a lot about Botany and Agronomy and soil in addition to human sciences. Sham boosted my knowledge of agronomy and plant sciences. I also learn a lot of farming measurements like acres and hectares, a refresher from Sham having not taught or associated with biology and chemistry for some 35 years.

The Agri Ministry says it experimented with 125 acres (2.4 acres per hectare), and yielded three tonnes per hectare. It is not clear if it is corn or soya. The write up is not consistent with usage of units— it must be in all hectare or all acres. Three tonnes per hectare is 6,000 pounds (one tonne is 2,000 pounds). This would work out to 2,500 pounds per acre. In the US, the standard of measurement is bushel. One bushel is approximately 56 pounds — this depends on density of the grain or fruit.

In Guyana, the yield is near 45 bushels (of soya) per acre — I speculate it is soya beans as the article is not clear. In the US, both corn and soya must be less than 14 per cent moisture for adequate storage. The Guyana yield for soya at 45 bushels compares with an average yield of 50 bushels in the US at less than 14 per cent moisture. Guyana may have used less science in cultivation and harvesting. So comparing 45 bushels with yield of 50 bushels in the USA is not bad.

To determine whether it is good investment, one must also look at input costs — fixed and variable costs as those of us who study economics and business would know and understand these concepts. How much was invested and cost per acre. In the USA, cost per acre for soya is $400 inclusive of land rent. Rent has been going up in the USA at about $250 to $300 per acre. Cultivation costs are about $250 inclusive of fertiliser and seed and labour. A few years back, cost of production and rent was half.
Overall, for Guyana, it is not bad yield if it is soya. It seems like the writer and the minister were both speaking of soya. If it is corn, one would expect close to 150 bushels per acre.
Nevertheless, the ministry must be applauded for the effort to produce food and make the country self-sufficient in food production. With the right technology and utilisation of science as the Berbician farmer has informed me, food production can be boosted especially, of grains, vegetables, and fruits and other minor crops like dried edible beans. Sham is willing to lend a helping hand gratis.

Yours truly,
Vishnu Bisram