A TIPPING POINT FOR LOCAL AGRICULTURE

Dec 02, 2008 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

Often, when we think of what is needed to improve the standard of living in Guyana, we assume that we need some great development plans. We have had such plans in the past, but they delivered only underdevelopment.
We also assume that we need a great deal of funds to make a quantum leap. This is not so at all.
A few years ago, Mark Gladstone’s remarkable book The Tipping Point, proved how little things can make a big difference.
I have since become a convert to the power of small adjustments. When, for example, I see an athlete not progressing at a fair pace, I do not think about the number of hours more they need to practice. Instead, I think about what simple adjustment, small as it may be, that can make the greatest difference to that person’s technique or performance.
Better results often come not so much from working harder, but rather from working smarter.
In the case of many students, I have found that it is not so much burning the midnight oil that improves performance, but rather trying to improve their focus during classes, rather than adding to their workload.
The power of small ideas to bring about monumental changes can equally be applied to the larger society. Take, for example, the Grow More Food campaign. This arose out of the need for Guyana to grow more food because of rising food prices and the opportunities that this increase in food prices presented to farmers.
We were told that this campaign would have been market driven, i.e. it was not an attempt to produce more of every and any thing, but rather a more structured campaign that would be determined by the demands of the market, both local and international.
Well, if this was the case, I am yet to see the structured approach. It would seem as if the Government of Guyana simply decided that we needed to grow more food, but did not put a great deal of thought into what crops would be the centre of focus, or how we could go about having a market-driven campaign.
The Grow More Food campaign seems to have turned out to be a haphazardly planned event which did not have any structured approach in terms of how to gauge its success, other than by the fact that people would be asked to Grow More Food and a ton of money would have been spent buying and distributing seeds to all and sundry.
This campaign seems now to be fizzling. But all is not lost, because an important idea seems to be taking root in this country, and I believe that this idea which takes the form of a technology can salvage the Grow More Food campaign and possibly open up other doors for the young and vibrant Minister of Agriculture, Robert Persaud.
Sometimes an idea comes along that is a tipping point. In the agriculture sector we now have one such idea, which incidentally is not a new concept; it has been around for a long, long time.
This single idea, I believe, can revolutionise agriculture and will only cost the Government a fraction of the hundreds of millions it has already spent on the Grow More Food campaign.
This is why this idea is a tipping point; it is just a small change which has to be introduced in the agriculture sector, but which can make a huge difference to the overall production of crops, vegetables and flowers in this country.
Instead of sharing out seeds and running all over the world trying to woo investors, the Ministry of Agriculture would be better advised to disseminate this technology, since it can almost overnight lead to a doubling of production in crops and vegetables without having to bring new lands under cultivation.
This technology I am referring to is greenhouse farming. Of course, there is a cost in terms of establishing the greenhouse, but Guyanese are innovative, and even those farmers who cultivate a couple dozen beds can make use of this technology so as to boost production.
The introduction of greenhouses, not just as nurseries but on farms, will increase yields, shorten the period dramatically between planting and reaping, avoid the problems posed by the weather, and reduce losses caused by pests.
This is why it is a tipping point in local agriculture.
I urge the Ministry of Education to ensure that all farmers understand this technology and how it can boost production locally.
It has fallen into the lap of the ministry at a time when the Grow More Food campaign is fizzling. It can help to revitalize and give new direction to that campaign.
It can be adapted for both small and large farmers. It is a tipping point.

Latest News

A TIPPING POINT FOR LOCAL AGRICULTURE

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Dharry reigns supreme with second-round KO against Ramirez

Rutherford among nominees for ICC Men’s ODI...

Lumumba appointed Advisor to GBA

K&S/One Guyana National Futsal Championships...

Lewis, Gentle defend GTA One Guyana Open Tennis...

Zion Hickerson scores one-year sponsorship with...

Features/Columnists

Consent is not a veto

Breaking the Chains of Poverty: A need for political will

Barrels, boxes, and bills

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]

A TIPPING POINT FOR LOCAL AGRICULTURE

Share this:

Related

Similar Articles

The Glenn Lall Show | December, 2nd, 2024

Follow on Tik Tok @Glennlall

THE BLUNT OF THE DAY

Sports

Features/Columnists

Publisher’s Note

Weekend Cartoon

Bridge Watch

Demerara Harbour Bridge

> Berbice Bridge […]