NAREI to improve on potato cultivation

…secures several private proposals

The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) has received several partnership proposals from private investors as Guyana continues to see an increase in the need for potatoes to be cultivated on a large-scale basis.
This is in light of several successful trials undertaken by the institution over the past year.
The research arm of NAREI is in the process of procuring state-of-the-art potato seed storage equipment.
According to the Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr Oudho Homenauth, adding such equipment to the list of services already being offered by the institution is necessary, as it positions itself to adequately address the need for the commodity to be grown locally.
“Already $5 million has been allocated under our capital works programme for the procurement of the equipment and will be procured shortly…adding potatoes to the list of commodities we (NAREI) have successfully [trialled] is important, but having it done on a large-scale basis is ever more necessary,” Dr Homenauth said.
During the trial phase undertaken by the Research Institute, several successful trials were undertaken in conjunction with farmers in Mahaicony, Little Biaboo – Region Five; Laluni and Kairuni on the Linden-Soesdyke Highway, and Kato, Parima, and Santa Fe in the hinterland.
However, among the notable challenges which were documented by the Institute were poor germination and the development of fungus as a result of improper storage of seed materials.
One of the spin-off effects of Guyana being able to produce potato on a large scale will be a significant reduction in its import bill, which continues to be a challenge for Guyana and the wider Caricom Region. To target this, according to Dr Homenauth, import substitution has to be increased.
“From 2011 to 2016, the food import bill has risen from US$176 million to US$261 million, representing a 48 per cent increase over the six-year period. This is an alarming figure and is the premise on which NAREI’s diversification efforts are targeted,” Dr Homenauth stated.
In light of Guyana’s quest to expand commercial agriculture, Agriculture Minister Noel Holder has called on investors to take advantage of the opportunities.
He added that with the prospect of potatoes being grown on a large-scale basis, opportunities are ripe to engage, network, and grow.