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Agri. Minister vows to help farmers reduce losses with value-added techniques
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha
Kaieteur News – Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha has given a commitment to farmers that he will ensure they get the most out of their produce with the employment of smart cultivation and value-added techniques. The Minister made this declaration during a visit to Fairfield and #8 Village, West Berbice last week Friday.
During the visit, one farmer lamented the instances where the price for tomatoes would be as low as $20 per pound, while other times, it could go as high as $200 per pound. The farmer added that the cost of production does not fluctuate as prices do and oftentimes, this results in farmers making a loss when prices are low.
Responding to the farmer’s concern, Minister Mustapha said the government is now promoting value-added production so that farmers can benefit from improved prices for their produce. In this regard, the Minister said, “We recognise that our farmers are still doing agriculture in a subsistent way. They take their produce from the farm straight to the market. This is why, as part of the strategic plan of the Ministry of Agriculture and the Government of Guyana, we are promoting value-added production.”
The Minister added, “We have been working to construct a number of agro-processing facilities. This year alone, we’ll be building five new agro-processing facilities. We are also working to change the attitudes of our farmers so that they see the importance of value-added production.”
Minister Mustapha said generally, farmers would want to take their produce from the farm to the market as soon as they reap it. Instead of this approach, the Minister said that farmers would be encouraged to take their produce to packaging centres and have this done properly so that they can get more money for it. “So we’ll be working with the farmers to ensure they see the benefits of value-added production,” Minister Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha also said that a team from the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC) will be meeting with farmers in the area to assist with finding markets for their produce as well as sensitising them on the benefits of value-added and agro-processing. He also said that officers from the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) will be intensifying their training services so that farmers have a better understanding of how to improve their cultivation, and the necessary farming practices they should apply to move from one level of production to the next.
Further to this, the subject Minister told farmers that, with climate change, they should adopt more smart agriculture practices.
“With climate change taking place, the weather patterns have become unpredictable in many instances. When you plant certain crops in the open, they stand a higher chance of being destroyed by rain or drought-like conditions. This is why, for this year, we will be working with farmers and farmers’ groups across the country to construct 100 shade houses,” the Minister stated.
Last year, the Ministry of Agriculture procured $18.5 million in shade house materials. Those materials are being sold at a minimal cost to farmers.
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