E’bo rice farmer in $300M coconut, plantain farm venture

Feb 09, 2014 News

by Yannason Duncan
Businessmen who continue to foresee the economic and nutritious potentials (values) in coconut water are investing millions of their wealth (dollars) in the progressing lucrative venture.

E’bo rice farmer, Roopan Ramotar

One such prominent Essequibo businessman is Mr. Roopan Ramotar, a/k “Fowl Cock”. He has invested US$1.5M in a 200 hundred-acre of farm land at Hackney Canal in the Lower Pomeroon.
Ramotar’s model farm was established two years ago and has a projection to reap almost 10,000 water coconuts annually. The idea is to similarly convert and refine those by products, especially the water coconut and plantain into bottled water coconut and plantain chips into marketed products, intended for sale both domestically and internationally. Ramotar sees his venture as adding “value for money”.
Several other crops have been inter-cropped into Ramotar’s farm. These include pear, watermelon, pepper, pumpkin etc. He has also ventured into aqua farming and has almost10, 000 tilapia among other species of fish on his farm.
Expounding plans for another one of his new ventures, Ramotar stated that in the next two months bottled coconut water as well as the “Rooster” brand plantain chips will be circulating on the shelves of the local markets. He has since targeted supermarkets in Georgetown, Parika and those on the Essequibo Coast.
Ramotar explained that the processing of his new products would be done at his established processing factory at Land of Plenty, Essequibo Coast.
Aimed at producing products to fit the International Standard, Ramotar added that he has hired two Canadian VSOs, Yvon Bertrand and John Mc Donald, a volunteer advisor whom he met on a foreign trip to aid in the processing and packaging of his products.
Ramotar said that all of the pieces of equipment are already on location. The concept however behind venturing into bottled coconut water, despite there is a gradual competition within the trade by businessmen, especially in the Pomeroon River, Ramotar maintained that his primary focus was to change people’s eating habits.
He said that a lot of people have not been consuming healthy foods, thus with his new initiative, especially in the brand of bottled coconut water, an awareness will be awakened among people and more so children to adopt a healthier lifestyle.
Ramotar is however confident that his venture would fulfill its true potential, since he has confessed that coconut has enormous enterprises and with the support of the Government behind his new venture, his expectations are relishing.
Another $15M, Ramotar said, was plugged into making plantain chips. He said the plantain would further be converted into plantain flour.
While this new venture has opened jobs for persons living in various areas of the Pomeroon River, the critical aspect of the 200-acre farm is to effect proper maintenance.

A blooming sucker farm in the Pomeroon, Region Two.

Ramotar said that he is giving two acres of his 200 acres of land to NAREI and to the students of the University of Guyana to do research and technology.