Georgetown: Hon. Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, Minister of Agriculture and staff of the Ministry of Agriculture met with farmers of the Good Success – Garden of Eden Farmers Association at Craig Village, East Bank Demerara yesterday.
The Good Success – Garden of Eden Farmers Association, which is headed by Mr. Gowkarran Sukhdeo, received a number of agricultural items under the Rural Enterprise Development (READ) Project. Items include: Three (3) Land Tillers, Ten (10) 450 gallons Water Tank, Sixty (60) length irrigation hose, Six (6) rolls of Drip Irrigation Hose, Six (6) mist blowers, Ten (10) CP3 Spray Cans, Four (4) Forks, Ten (10) Cutlasses, Twelve (12) Files, Twelve rolls of UV Shade Plastic, Twelve rolls of Shade Mesh, 1 two disc plough and $700,000 worth in building materials for the shade house.
The farmers’ group has so far benefitted from a $6M Grant used for the purchase of these equipment, implement and farm supplies as well as a $4M in loan which can be accessed by the members to assist them financially to upgrade their farms, a total of $10M.
The group’s main focus is cassava, ground provision and agro-processing. However, the farmers also cultivate other vegetable crops and with the assistance received today, they indicated that this will only enhance their production capacity and allow them to modernise their agricultural practices using drip irrigation and shade house technology.
Dr. Ramsammy also had an interactive session with the farmers to listen to their concerns and recommendations on agriculture in their area. The farmers outlined that welcome this contribution and assistance through the READ Project of the Ministry at this most timely juncture and highlighted that this will surely allow them to build capacity and encourage their youths to remain in agriculture. The READ Project also provided training in record keeping, data collection, management etc to all the groups they are working with countrywide.
Ramsammy, Minister of Agriculture told farmers that he along with a team from the Ministry will take a full tour of their farmlands on Monday, 1st July, 2013 after which he will send in other departmental technical officers to work closely with farmers as they continue to establish themselves in agriculture.
At the meeting, Dr. Ramsammy outlined the efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture in revamping the Extension Services. He also highlighted that farmers today should start thinking of crops such as corn, soya, Quinoa, and Black-Eye Peas for which there are growing international markets and demands.
Dr. Ramsammy encouraged farmers to continue to work closely knitted in their groups since this can bring enormous benefits economically and urged that farmers maintain a close working relation with the Extension services and the Guyana Agricultural Producers’ Association (GAPA).
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