Sand Creek cassava germplasm bank to advance crop breeding, conservation efforts
Agriculture Ministry aiding Sand Creek farmers to develop cassava germplasm
In moves to advance sustainable food production practices, the Agriculture Ministry through its Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) is currently working with farmers from Sand Creek, Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) to develop a cassava germplasm bank.
The Agriculture Ministry on Friday noted that this forms part of their crop breeding, research, and conservation efforts.
Following several visits to the region during and after the floods, President Dr Irfaan Ali and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha committed to working with communities to develop food security strategies that seek to make their food production both resilient and sustainable.
Last year, the Agriculture Ministry signed a contract with the Sand Creek Village Council valued at $4 million for the implementation of a cassava germplasm bank and the supply of farm tools support for the region.
Germplasm refers to the seeds, plants, or plant parts having all possible alleles for all the genes in a given crop, with the bank being the structure in which their materials are stored.
Funding for these initiatives was provided by the Guyana Government and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development Project (HESADP).
While the project is being executed in Sand Creek, surrounding villages in the region will also benefit from quality planting materials for cassava cultivation.
Last November, Minister Mustapha handed over three heavy-duty tractors procured under the Ministry’s Rural Agriculture Infrastructure Development Project (RAID) along with planting materials and other inputs to several villages in the region.
Farmers from the villages of Shulinab, Meriwau, Sand Creek, Awarenau, Mururanau, Rupanau, Katoonarib, Baitoon, Potarinau, Quiko, Parikwarinau, Aishalton, Shea, Taushida and Koshebai (South Pakaraima) had benefited from breeding bulls and boars to improve their villages’ genetic material.
They also received cassava sticks, coconut seedlings, shade house materials, as well as an all-terrain vehicle (ATV).
