An adumbration of the greatness of our food exporting farmers

May 11, 2017 Letters

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Dear Editor,
Guyana is poised to make further advances into its history of being a prime producer of food in quality, quantity and variety, to meet the needs of its citizens, and to be able to export a significant volume of these agricultural products, not only rice and sugar, etc. Our farmers have proven their worth, who operating under some may say primitive conditions, have displayed extraordinary abilities to place Guyana among food exporting countries.
There is more to agriculture than cultivating crops and rearing of livestock. As the basic industry, agriculture being the mainstay of employment in Guyana, we must ensure that it maintains its hegemony. This submission here seeks to point out that we are lucky in that our Guyana is poised for greatness, to which some of us will have to bear the burden; which burdens have already been exhibited by our pioneer farmers who journeyed up the far reaches of the Mahaicony, Mahaica, Abary, Berbice, Pomeroon Rivers, (the floods of 1968 put an end to the Pomeroon’s role as a major fruit producer, and further the demise of carambola processing completed Pomeroon’s chances of recovery). Not to leave out those in the hinterland, such as the Northwest Districts where nascent tree crop farms produced abundant supplies of avocados, citrus, coffee and other fruits. The migration from the Northwest to Venezuela, witnessed the end of yams on a large scale, and by the same token tree crops, peanuts, oil palm etc.
How do we assure the descendants of those early settlers that their parents’ sacrifices to dwell and produce food in god-forsaken places were worth the effort? We venture to suggest to them that they have been making a valuable contribution to the nation’s economy, that they must hold the fort. The Government of Guyana and we the people are mindful of their sacrifice. Though isolated in the Canje, Bonasika and other “ukhu-aha” places, they are always in our thoughts. We have to insist to them that Guyana would do all in our power to uphold their industry, by providing the goods and services they need to stay in place.
Our farmers on the Coastland, better days are ahead. Government must comfort our noble farmers that agriculture is the main pillar of the economy and, having been the mainstay for decades, would be so for the foreseeable future, not just to reduce and restrict the food import bill, but to continue creating jobs, as this paper will reveal. Agriculture is the main engine of growth for all times. We are charged to initiate change and development by starting with ourselves. Values cannot be imparted through nice speeches, newspaper articles. Values are per-formative, that is they can only find and offer meaning through action.
We who want to change the decadent morality of our society will need to practice the values we preach. Live and work among the ordinary folks, who are the organic intellectuals, who know about the hardships faced in their daily experiences, who are the salt of the Earth, who do not possess the luxury to plan and express ideas. Their insights are seen to be inferior by those who think they are superior in intelligence, education, job position or social status.
Guyana has a rich history and experience with land development and land settlement; commencing from before independence, when sugar workers were recruited to become farmers on these land settlement schemes, be it Anna Regina, Cane Grove, Vergenoegen, to name the better acquainted ones. Then to larger operations such as Bonasika-Boeraserie, Black Bush, Tapacuma, Garden of Eden, Kent Dam, Mahaica – Mahaicony – Abary, Branwak-Sai, Mara etc. These land development facilities have contributed magnificently to our agri and rural development; and significantly to our knowledge on how to manage them.
There have been complaints as to their maintenance and upkeep. It must be appreciated that maintenance of drainage and irrigation, fair weather roads/dams, and other access road/dams are costly. It is imperative then, that each acre in these land development areas be productive. Nevertheless there has never been talk of the uselessness of the land development/settlement scheme, just criticisms of their management. Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.
The present diversification from sugar must give birth to a new term, which is transition; for we are to use the first phase of this transition as a model of 21st century agriculture and a post sugar economy.
The 21st century economy for Guyana has been decided by policy and fate, to be one which will be based on both a green and agricultural economy. We have the resources: land, water, sunshine and skilled farmers and – farmers in waiting — who have displayed great acumen towards their industry. To achieve our prosperity, we have to appreciate that this phase of Guyana’s economic development has to entertain the utilization of modern technologies that, devolved to household level but correlated to community level, can ensure efficiencies in production, processing logistics and marketing.
Wales presents an opportunity to redirect an awareness of the falsity of the ideology that only the wealthy that have money can make money. That, the poor are always fated to be a market for the length of his existence. Because as they know instantly, as shown by their current efforts to protect themselves, collective community efforts is a great weapon against deprivation and a wonderful tool for community prosperity.
Hafiz Rahaman for
Rural People organization

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