Berbice: About 150 vulnerable farmers from Plegtanker to Mara in East Berbice, Corentyne are now benefitting from a Canadian-funded project that aims to enhance their livelihood, as well their capability to handle agricultural disasters.
For years, farmers in the communities surrounding Mara have had to battle with flooding. Today these farmers are better prepared to manage such eventuality since the Caribbean Local Economic Development (CARILED) with financial support of the Government of Canada provided through the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development has provided the Mara Farmers Association (MFA) with a multipurpose mini excavator for installation and maintenance of all drains and irrigation canals, and preparation of land.
It has also provided members of the association with training in the areas of machine operation and maintenance, good agriculture practices, small farm management, low cost production techniques and post – harvest capacity building.
This US$94,500 Mara Agricultural Enhancement Project was officially commissioned today at the Mara Community Centre. Present were Minister of Local Government and Regional Development Norman Whittaker, Permanent Secretary Collin Croal, Councillor, City of Toronto, Canada and from Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) Michael Thompson, Programme Director, CARILED Alix Yule and Regional Programme Manager, CARILED, Olaf Fontennelle.
Mara is among 25 local development projects that CARILED is at present supporting in seven Caribbean countries (Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St Lucia and Trinidad and Tobago) as part of model projects whose success they hope to share throughout the region. The projects are being implemented in support with FCM, the Caribbean Association of Local Government Authorities (CALGA,) and the Caribbean Forum of Local Government Ministers.
During the commissioning Minister Whittaker urged the farmers to use the new technology and training to seek to not only move beyond subsistence farming, but also towards looking at crop diversification.
He warned about the reliance on just one crop, noting that rice and sugar have only survived this long because of preferential markets and prices.
The Mara project was chosen following a series of engagement with the community. Noting this, the Minister also said that this was in consonance with Government’s policies of taking the bottoms up approach, whereby communities are always engaged in their own development.
Meanwhile Thompson was quick to point out to the farmers that it was not just the Canadian government to be thanked, but also Guyanese living in Canada. He pointed out that part of the resources that the Canadian Government has in order to fund projects like CARILED would have come through the Diaspora; their contribution in making an investment back into their own communities.
He said that the support will enable the farmers to continue to play their vital role of enriching the country.
“You enrich by the products that you produce, and I think that really is something that you ought to celebrate because that makes you the people who feed, the bread basket of the country… it is also important for us to understand that by collaborating, working with different partners and assisting you, giving you a helping hand, helps you to be more productive, better farmers, to develop more expertise that you can also transfer to other areas as well…the ability to be able to utilise that experience make your farm better,” he said.
Meanwhile, Regional Vice Chairman Bhupaul Jhagroo and acting Chairman of MFA, Daniel Ward noted that the initiative, and more importantly the excavator was one that the farmers had been calling for.
“This excavator will enable us to expand, empower and drain more of our lands…with better drainage we will be able to increase our production, earn more, create employment and have a higher standard of living thereby reducing poverty in the community,” Ward said.
Jhagroo as well advanced this point noting that if machinery and training are used correctly, the enhancement of farmers’ capacity will be great.
The CARILED is aimed at supporting local government authorities by strengthening their competencies to sustain the growth and viability of existing enterprises, attract new ventures, and put in place services, plans and strategies that meet their business needs.
It is being implemented in Four Regions in Guyana; 2, 3, 4 and 6. The projects being executed include the Friendship Swine Development Project in Region 4, Tapakuma Women’s Agriculture Diversification in Region 2, and the Canal Polders Green Initiative in Region 3.
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