Hinterland agriculture and development

Mar 11, 2018 APNU Column, Features / Columnists

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“Food security is threatened, also, by the phenomenon of climate change. Extreme weather – the cycle of droughts and floods, the overtopping of the seawalls and swollen rivers – have resulted in widespread economic losses in the agricultural sector.
The agriculture sector, owing to its dependence on environmental conditions, makes it susceptible to the detrimental effects of extreme weather” – H.E. David Granger.

The recent high tides which caused flooding in coastal communities along the Essequibo Islands – West Demerara Region (Region 3) is a wake -up call and a reminder of our vulnerability to the effects of rising sea levels and climate change.
It is a known fact that the majority of our population live on a narrow strip of coastal land which is about 250 miles long. It is a fact that this area is below sea level and therefore is subject to the effects of rising sea levels due to climate change.
It is also a fact that most of our major agricultural production takes places on the coast. Recently after very severe high tides, a section of our coastal sea defence was damaged. It is also apposite to note that our centuries old drainage system is designed to accommodate no more than two inches of rainfall in twenty-four hours. All of the above make our coastal agricultural production extremely vulnerable to climate change and extreme weather.
The Peoples National Congress (PNC) a major partner in A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) has long advocated for the total development of Guyana. In an address to the 15th Annual Delegates Congress of the PNC on April 9, 1972, Prime Minster and Leader of the Party Forbes Burnham said “Our existence upon the coastland is the result of a pattern imposed upon us by colonialism. Our entry into the interior is an expression of our freedom…….. too many people are still psychologically coast-bound and think of Guyana’s development in terms of only the coastal plains.”
Guyana’s coastal plains are home to some three–quarters of the country’s economic activities including almost all the agricultural production. Rising sea levels could devastate agricultural production if saltwater inundates fields and intrudes into the estuaries used to irrigate them. Saltwater from rising seas could also contaminate freshwater supplies used for drinking and other domestic and industrial activities, requiring costly treatment. It is therefore imperative that we move our major agricultural production away from the coast.
According to the Agriculture Ministry, the next frontier for agricultural development in Guyana is the two large areas of savannah land; the intermediate savannah, which is immediately behind the coastal strip and the Rupununi savannah in the southern part of the country. Already there is some agricultural activity taking place in the Rupununi Savannah, it is incumbent on policy makers to ensure that this trend continues in a structured way.
Established on January 1, 1968, the Guyana Youth Corps was seen as a means of not only solving the youth unemployment problem, but also, there was a plan for graduates at the end of their attachment to settle in the hinterland or in border communities – Frontline Communities.
The Farm Corps of the Guyana Defence Force was established in 1972. Members of the Corps were expected to be trained in military skills and then allocated land in the hinterland – an average of twenty-five acres per person. They were to be organised into Cooperatives at Wauna in the Barima-Waini region.
The Guyana National Service (GNS) which was established in 1974 was another attempt at developing our hinterland and promoting hinterland agriculture. In his booklet ‘The Guyana National Service 1974-2000’ David Granger writes, “Hinterland settlement was regarded as a fundamental feature of pioneer training programmes meant to be geared towards utilizing both human and national resources…”
During the life of the service, hinterland agricultural production was maximized. Over 1,012 hectares (2,500 acres) of cotton and various other crops such as corn, legumes, sorghum and peanuts were cultivated. The GNS also engaged in rearing poultry, swine and other livestock at its various hinterland centres and farms.
For political reasons the Peoples Progressive Party neglected hinterland development, agricultural diversification and more particularly, hinterland agriculture. It is now the task of the Coalition government to reset our agenda, pointing the development of agriculture of this country in the right direction.
President Granger has long advocated that the hinterland of Guyana must no longer be regarded as ‘bush’, but as a part of ‘One Nation’ – Guyana. The establishment of Capital towns in the Barima-Waini, Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo, Cuyuni-Mazaruni and the ten-point development plan for frontier communities are important first steps; hinterland agricultural development must be the next step. It not only makes good economic sense but with global warming, rising sea levels and climate change, it also is good common sense.

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