The most significant development in our agricultural sector in recent times

Aug 21, 2024 Features / Columnists, Peeping Tom

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Kaieteur News – There was a time when you wanted bargains on food on sale at the markets all you had to do was to wait until the sellers were leaving to make your purchases.

Many of these sellers did not want to pay the cost of transporting their leftover produce back home and so they would sell it at dog-cheap prices. This ain’t happening anymore. No last-hour bargains are available because most sellers are not willing to drop their prices. They prefer to take their produce back home and bring them back the next day or next week, depending on how often they sell. Sellers, who now often operate in multiple markets, are also less inclined to drop their prices. Instead, they take their produce home or dump them, leading to a vicious cycle of wastage and inflated prices.

In this context, the launch of the Guyana Marketing Corporation’s (GMC) project to dehydrate fruits and vegetables is perhaps the most exciting development in the agricultural sector in recent memory. In a sector often dominated by the narrative of challenges and setbacks, this initiative stands out as a sign of progress, a tangible step towards addressing one of the most pressing issues faced by our agricultural sector: post-harvest losses. The benefits of this initiative are far-reaching and have the potential to bring significant positive changes to the lives of farmers, consumers, and the local economy.

For decades, the agricultural sector in Guyana has been grappling with the issue of post-harvest losses. The statistics are staggering: in 2016, the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) estimated that post-harvest losses for cassava were as high as 23%, and for tomatoes, a shocking 34%. At the same time, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) estimated that about 30% of all fruits and vegetables produced in the country are not consumed. This represents a significant loss not just in terms of wasted produce but also in terms of lost income for farmers and higher prices for consumers.

The GMC’s dehydration project is a bold and innovative response to this problem. By focusing on the dehydration of fruits and vegetables, the initiative aims to extend the shelf life of these products, reducing the need for farmers and sellers to dump unsold produce. This is a significant step forward, not just for farmers and consumers but for the entire agricultural sector. By reducing post-harvest losses, farmers can increase their income, and consumers can benefit from lower prices. Moreover, the project has the potential to spur the growth of a new industry in Guyana: the processed dried foods industry.

Dehydration is a well-established method of preserving fruits and vegetables, and its potential in Guyana is immense. In many countries around the world, dried fruits such as apples, peaches, dates, cherries, and grapes are not just popular snacks but also valuable export products. Guyana has the potential to tap into this market, leveraging its rich agricultural resources to produce a range of dried fruits and vegetables for both local consumption and export.

Already, there are promising signs of what can be achieved. A local company is manufacturing dried dates, coconuts, papayas, and pineapples, and during the Christmas season, many Guyanese use locally processed foods that have undergone some form of dehydration, such as carambola and five-finger.

Under the APNU+AFC, sun-dried tomatoes were produced in the interior using solar dryers, a product that has a large market in North America. The Pomeroon region, with its abundant fruit production, suffers from significant post-harvest losses, but with the right investment in dehydration technologies, this region could become a hub for the production of dried fruits.

By creating a new market for dried fruits and vegetables, the project can help to diversify the agricultural sector, reducing its reliance on fresh produce and opening up new opportunities for farmers and processors. This could lead to the creation of new jobs and the development of new skills, particularly in rural areas where agricultural employment is often the mainstay of the local economy. In fact, the expansion of drying technology can spur hinterland food production and food processing. This can have a transformative effect on the lives of hinterland residents and help to reduce extreme poverty in the interior.

The project has the potential to stimulate the overall growth of the local economy. The processed dried foods industry is a high-value sector, with significant export potential. By developing this industry, Guyana could increase its agricultural exports, bringing in much-needed foreign exchange and boosting the country’s economic growth. At the same time, by producing dried fruits and vegetables locally, the project could help to reduce the country’s reliance on imported processed foods, improving food security and reducing the country’s trade deficit. This initiative, small as it is, is not just an important step forward for the agricultural sector; it is a model for the kind of innovative, forward-thinking projects that are needed to drive the development of the Guyanese economy in the years to come.

(The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of this newspaper.)

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• cheap, markets, sector, times, transporting

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