FARMERS have a wealth of knowledge. Despite challenges, they love what they do and continue to work the land to produce fresh fruits, vegetables, and ground provisions, among other foods, so our diet can be colourful and healthy.

Raymond Wong is a cattle and poultry farmer and he also cultivates pineapples, sweet potatoes, cassava and plantain at his farms at La Grange, his home and Canal #1 Polder, respectively.
He has been farming for the past 24 years, and he has a collection of cattle, turkeys, ducks, and meat birds between his farms at Wales Backdam and his Unity Street, La Grange home.
The 44-year-old told Pepperpot Magazine that he was a cane cutter and a rice farmer, but he was fed up with working for people and decided to become self-employed.

Wong explained that he came from a family where the men – his great-grandfather, grandfather and father – were all cattle farmers. They reared cows on a large scale, so growing up, he got familiar with cattle rearing. One day, he decided he had enough of working for other people and started out small with a few cows, acquired a plot of land to farm, and began his journey of becoming a self-styled farmer.

Wong told Pepperpot Magazine that on his farm, he employs six men from the village to assist in harvesting and planting crops on his 40-acre plot and he would sell his produce to wholesale buyers. The farmer related that he cultivates pine and cassava on a large scale and needs the extra hands at harvesting time.

He disclosed that recently, unknown persons have been setting his farmlands alight; as such, several beds of pines were destroyed in the malicious fire and in this dry season, he is worried about the safety of his crops.

Wong stated that being a farmer is all about taking risks, and often, he doesn’t see any profits due to the rising cost of agricultural products and equipment. In addition, he has 17 hunting dogs and is licensed to hunt. It is a pastime on the weekends and he would sell some of the wild meat he hunts just to offset expenses and maintain his dogs. Wong added that he often gave away the wild meats to family and friends.

The farmer noted that his day starts early in the morning and usually ends late at night because there is so much to be done to ensure a good harvest for his crops.

“I would try to return home for lunch, take a nap and go back to the farm, which is practically routine during the week but on weekends it is my time to relax, and I go hunting with my dogs,” he said.

Wong reported that farming is an everyday job and that is why he had to employ people to assist him two to three times per week and he would pay them for the days they work. He explained that when pine is in season and when it is ripe, he has to sell it off within two weeks because it would go bad.

Being a large-scale pine farmer, Wong pointed out that picking pines and selling them is a tall task it but must be done to earn.

“Farming is a commitment. It takes up a lot of your time, but if you do it for yourself, it becomes easy and if something comes up you must deal with it quickly. But farming is my life and it is what I do,” he explained.

Wong stated that he also manages the farm aback his home in La Grange, West Bank Demerara and does it single-handedly, so there is no time for leisure, but he would make time to go hunting, a hobby he developed years ago.

Apart from farming, he would enjoy caring for his 17 dogs, a mix of German Shepherds and Greyhounds, and spend time with them as often as he could. Wong pointed out that farming has been in his family for generations, and it is not something he can walk away from. It is part of his identity and his life.