NICIL help ex-sugar workers turn to farming

Feb 02, 2020 News

Since being forced to part ways with the Wales Sugar Estate, a number of ex-sugar workers have now turned to farming. This development became a reality through efforts tailored by the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Ltd. (NICIL).

Site Supervisor Haribhajan Persaud

The farmers have expressed appreciation for the support.
Former Site Supervisor of the Wales Estate, Haribhajan Persaud, said that there continues to be a “mad rush” for farming lands. According to him, several former sugar workers, including prominent large-scale businessmen and foreign investors, are among those seeking lands. He said that unlike several other closed sugar factories, Wales had to take a different approach since it hadn’t a factory.
According to Persaud, several investors and small farmers have been able to lease lands for agricultural purposes. Some of the small farmers are former employees who are grateful that they can earn a living through their agricultural investment.
“Several persons are already on their lands and while we have not completed distribution, we have already given the lands out as there are far more applications than what is available,” he said.
He disclosed that of the 7,943 acres of land that the estate owns, NICIL decided to set aside 1,000 acres for its own cultivation of rice. He disclosed that originally, NICIL had conceptualised doing seed paddy in an effort to collaborate and assist the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).
This collaboration has resulted in the five crops of rice already being cultivated since the last half of 2017. Persaud said that they are pleased to see that several former sugar workers are coming up with various business ideas in agriculture, stressing that they are mainly seeking land for cash crops, passion fruit, citrus and cattle rearing.
“Several of the former sugar workers who have secured lands here are into cash crops where they plant mainly passion fruit and citrus, while some are doing cattle rearing as they seek to continue creating employment for themselves.
We are pleased with this as the interest continues to grow and we are seeing more and more former sugar workers, who initially were reluctant to secure lands now coming forward to garner lands for various types of agricultural related business,” the Estate Site Supervisor said.
He disclosed that some have already harvested, while others are harvesting again as they continue to maximise the lands that once were used for sugar cultivation. He said that the cash crops are being planted on arable lands, which are fertile lands, while those into cattle rearing are doing this on marginal lands.
He said that the marginal lands do not support agriculture but grow mainly pasture grass.
Among some of the several former ex-sugar workers who have secured land and have ventured into agriculture are Jaipaul Thakur who is currently into cattle rearing; Owen Phillips – cattle rearing; Mohamed Rasheed – cattle rearing; Lindon Phoenix – cattle rearing; Harry Ketwaroo – mixed crops and Dhanpaul Samaroo, a cash crop farmer.
The farmers have each worked for more than 15 years at GUYSUCO. Several of them said that they decided to access the lands as a means of earning an income. They all expressed gratitude to those who helped chart the way for them.

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