Agriculture is pivotal to our development (Pt 2)

Dear Editor,
In a definitive way, oil exploitation has taken over the economic landscape of Guyana, so say the experts in economic development. Their analysis is based on the fact that oil has the capacity to develop any country overnight, simply put, your GDP will grow exponentially in a short space of time. Nevertheless, we cannot hide from the reality of it that oil is an exhaustible resource and at some time down the road, the wells will run dry. As an extractive industry, there is always the possibility of this resource becoming exhausted, a prime example is our sister Caricom nation of Trinidad where oil is no longer a major industry, but has been taken over by natural gas.
So, it is imperative that we take an in-depth look at some of the more permanent resources that this country is blessed with. In this regard Guyana must place much more emphasis on agriculture, that is, to fortify that which already exists and diversify into other areas in the agro-business field.
It is an established fact that to be successful in agriculture you must have the two main resources available, I am talking about the two most important aspects of agricultural development, the availability of arable land and a healthy supply of rainfall, these are two natural resources that Guyana is blessed with and if utilised wisely will bring about untold wealth and development to our country. We can now move on to greater things such as maximising production to its fullest extent.
In the established crop areas of sugar and rice, these have served us well over the years with copious supply for the local market as well as for export. With respect to sugar, rum and molasses we have a few things goings for us at present. Firstly, we have the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) which is a free trade agreement cooperation area with developing Third World Countries. Here we have uninterrupted market access to the United Kingdom for our traditional crops of which Guyana is the largest producer. Our position becomes more enhanced as the United Kingdom exits the European Union, this means that Europe’s loss will be our gain as we maximise our exports to Britain. Hitherto under the sugar protocol Britain’s good relations with former colonies we can now again get back into the family of relations as we improve production and exports.
We can expand and improve on our traditional crops such as plantains, eddoes and dasheen, oranges, sweet and sour oranges. I would add cherries to the last-named crop, as this creates a natural boost to the natural juices production. Lemons, limes, soursop and golden apple (dwarf variety) which is an all year round producer will also add a spike to the organic juices list.
Pumpkins, corn, bora and string beans are aimed for expansion. Soya bean and sorghum are areas we can explore and possibly expand on. Sorghum which is a newcomer to this list has the potential of doing well in Guyana.
Mangoes and pineapple production still holds a niche in the agro market, as well as avocado pears. There are so many by-products that can be had from the humble avocado pear. Ginger, hot peppers and turmeric still carry the day as we seek out areas for rapid expansion.
Other traditional plants grown here but not on a commercial scale are aloes and tulsi. The last-named crop holds far superior health benefits. These crops can be processed and packaged for the export market. Another crop with very valuable ethnomedicinal qualities is moringa. This crop which comes from the Tamil word murungai is used for many centuries in the subcontinent for its medicinal and health benefits, among these are antifungal, antiviral, antidepressant and anti-inflammatory qualities.
My list is by no means exhaustive and there are many other crop areas we can successfully tap into. You may also have observed that I did not make mention of animal husbandry areas we can get into, this I shall take up in a subsequent presentation.
Guyana is sitting on a gold mine, I am not talking about the ore that exists under the ground, but that which lies above. Agriculture, if explored in its truest sense, can bring benefits which will redound to the overall development and progress of our nation We are in good hands under the capable hands of Minister Mustapha, who is qualified and a man who has a passion for the industry. Let us give him our staunchest support.

Respectfully,
Neil Adams