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Closure of Wales Estate providesdifferent opportunity for Jacobs family
For generations the Jacobs have been planting the same lands. The lands were acquired sometime during the 1800s. In fact, the first transported land owned by this family dates back to 1929. The family business is alive today, thanks to young Mark Jacobs, who took up the mantle in 2008.
“Our original farms are located in Stanleytown/La Retraite, West Bank Demerara. And, we recently began cultivating leased land on the Soesdyke Highway. However, we also buy produce from farmers all over the country, including Linden, Mocha, Mahaicony, Parika, Canal#1 Polder and Nabacalis,” Jacobs said.
For many years the Jacobs family was also involved in sugar cane production. They were private contractors with GuySuCo. However, owing to the closure of the Wales Estate they were forced to abandon cane cultivation.
Thankfully, the family had anticipated the closure and had started diversifying their operations.
“Fortunately for us, we saw this coming and started preparing a few years before that event occurred. We knew the cane industry in Guyana was vulnerable, so we looked at other opportunities to channel our energies into.”
Jacobs currently plants rice, cassava, turmeric, bananas, pepper, coconuts, mango, tania, dasheen, annatto, hot peppers, sour sop, citrus and much more. While Jacobs has no problem marketing his fresh produce, he knows it is more lucrative to get involved in value addition. As such, Jacobs is now involved in agro-processing. 
“We started processing our products to maximize our income potential. Additionally, we have products and ideas that will move the industry forward, which we share with other farmers.”
Jacobs believes that Guyanese can benefit tremendously from the agriculture sector. However, securing financing that would grow one’s business is limited. He opines that an agriculture finance bank for farmers and agro-processors would help to propel immediate change.
He explained that, “The commercial bank loan officers do not understand agriculture and their rates are ridiculously high.Persons like myself, who do not own a house or land in Guyana cannot get loans from these institutions. Even with supply contracts from companies, securing bank financing has been an impossible task.”
“There is a lot of talk out there with people constantly patting themselves on the back in the media. The same difficulties are faced by other farmers and producers. We have survived and continue to grow from the assistance of friends, family and our customers.”
Another hurdle that hinders the sector’s growth is the lack of equipment for processing.
“This is owing to the complex tax and duty free system and cheap imports. Having said all that, we are on course to building the most innovative and dynamic agro processing company this country has ever seen,” he added.
His agro-processing company is providing hundreds of jobs, particularly for youths. Jacobs Agro, located at Hararuni, Linden Soesdyke Highway, has been in operation for just about a year. The attractively packaged products are already creating a stir in markets locally and internationally.
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