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Multimillion-dollar soil and disease-testing lab commissioned in Port Mourant
At a cost of $40M, Nand Persaud and Company Ltd, led by business moguls Rajendra and Mohindra Persaud, on Monday officially opened the doors to its newly-constructed soil and plant-testing laboratory at Johns, Port Mourant, Berbice.
The soil and disease testing lab
The ceremonial cutting of the ribbon by Mohindra Persaud with Rajindra Persaud and UG officials.
The first of its kind in the Ancient County will allow farmers the opportunity to access the facility for soil testing and disease testing for their crop. The ground-breaking venture was executed in collaboration with the University of Guyana, Tain Campus, under the leadership of Agronomist and Director of the University, Professor Subramaniam Gomathinayagam.
CEO of Nand Persaud Group of Companies, Mohindra Persaud told those gathered that the company saw the need for a facility to carry out soil-testing, since they believe that farmers who are educated about the soil that they plant on will be able to yield more. He added that the multimillion-dollar investment will seek to benefit not only farmers but students looking to pursue studies in the Agricultural field.
Persaud announced, based on reports, the last crop that concluded in Region Six was the largest crop in the region’s history. “The rice industry is getting bigger, better and more profitable”, he said.
Meanwhile, Rajendra Persaud, Chairman of the Nand Persaud Group of Companies, opined that the rice industry has the potential to increase its yields by 25-30 percent and with the facility made available, it will allow farmers to achieve such figures since it will allow for wiser planting practices.
“By doing a soil test you are going to save fertilizer and you will just apply the right fertilizer that is needed to maximize the yield”, he posited. He further added, “we need to have everybody profitable, making money, and in that way, it becomes sustainable and it continues to go on for life”.
The Chairman of the company also stressed that while Guyana has put its hands on oil, agriculture must not be ignored. He said that while it is still a sector that continues to grow, taxation in agricultural manufacturing is high.
“If you look at rice milling for example, rice milling is twenty seven and half percent tax and income tax every year, plus we pay GRDB US$8 per metric ton on commission for export. US$8 per metric ton adds up to 2% of turnover, so we are paying 2% turnover plus 27 and half percent tax… this is the highest tax in any industry in this country right now”, he said. He believes that agriculture is currently getting the least attention, although it is a sector that contributes greatly to the country’s GDP and employment rate.
The businessman was keen to suggest that more attention should be paid to the agriculture industry to ensure that persons benefit from the same as proposed for an oil-rich industry. He noted, “I don’t know how much of oil will trickle down to the farming community; I haven’t seen it trickle down in Trinidad, so I don’t see it happening in Guyana, so we need to make our agriculture very competitive”.
Also present at the commissioning ceremony were Regional Chairman, David Armogan, Director of University of Guyana, Berbice Campus, Subramanian Gomathinayagam, Dr. Paloma Mohamed, Deputy Vice Chancellor Philanthropy, Alumni and Civic Engagement (PACE) and Chair of the Transitional Management Committee (TMC), Pro-Chancellor of the University of Guyana Major Retired Joe Singh, among other university officials.
The laboratory is in the compound of the Johns Campus in Tain Village, Corentyne, Berbice, and will facilitate testing at a cost of $6,000.
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