“Plant Boy” defies parents to start up business at tender age

At the tender age of nine, with the desire to earn his own money to purchase items he needed for school, Raghuraj Persaud started a business against his parents’ wishes, even lashes on his back could not get him to desist.

He raised and sold plants, but the demands of the small business to which he was giving 100 per cent of his out-of-school time meant there was no time for school work.
His mother, a high school teacher, and his father, at that time a salesman, were stern and against the business, but the young determined boy would get away to collect soil and old buckets and tins for his business.
Credit must still be given to his mother; Miss Bheena, who assisted with selling the plants on Saturdays. Interest grew and many customers found ways of increasing their plant collection by the same means Persaud used – planting seeds and stem cuttings, so this was not good for his small customer base.
The young entrepreneur then placed more emphasis on selling soil at $1000 per bag. He shared the formula, but asked that it not be disclosed. “Without any fertiliser house plants will flourish [with this special soil]…”
Meanwhile, Miss Bheena butting in noted that the money from the business was being saved and should have been used to pay for Persaud’s CXC exams but that was not done and the money remained in the bank.
When Persaud was ready to leave high school, he had in excess of $200,000 in an account. “Money from the account was used to purchase school clothes and footwear through high school.”
Sadly, the business ended when Persaud left to attend the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA). Two years later, he was back and soon started attending the University of Guyana at the Berbice Campus.
But the plant business died because of the lack of the availability of fresh water. The only water available was salt water from the river and it killed the plants.
For Persaud, the next step – going into farming was the only way he could tell himself that he was still doing the business in agriculture and so a little farm was started.
Now, rice, citrus, fruits and cash crops are planted on the farm, which is part of Persaud’s Agro Supply –a concept which was hatched while he was at the GSA. It has now made him the agro-chemical dealer on the East Bank of Berbice.
The objective was to provide information and products for farmers in that part of the country. “Market research was done in this farming area and I found that persons had to travel to New Amsterdam to get chemicals for their animals and plants.”
He said having those chemicals available closer to the farmers and at a cheaper cost would result in him grabbing all of the agro-chemicals business from East Bank Berbice. “When I started the business, then I realized how cheap chemicals are, so now most farmers on the East Bank are benefiting from lower prices.”
However, to start the new business meant making an investment with funds which were not available, or so he thought. His mother then gave him his bank book with his earning from his days of selling plants and soil, and Persaud was able to construct a building with the necessary specifications and stock most of the chemicals which are frequently used by farmers in the rice industry and cash crop farming.
As Persaud continued to evolve as an agri-entrepreneur, he decided that a farm without animals was no farm – so he was desperate to bring animals to his farm but he had no money. “I bought cows without any money. I was coming home from school this day in New Amsterdam this day and I saw this man carrying these cows to the pound and the owner was at the back. I asked that man if he would sell the cows that he would not have to worry about them going into people’s yards. But I had no money! I told the man and he decided to sell me them, even though I had no money…” Now Persaud is one of the largest cattle farmers on the East Bank.
All of Persaud’s businesses are flourishing. His rice fields produced an average of 38 bags of paddy per acre last year, which is much higher than the national average.
All because he was not deterred by the lashes on his back intended to stop his plant business.
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