Latest update April 17th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 10, 2019 News
There is currently a readily available market for tomatoes in Region Eight and this is manifested through the efforts of the Pakaraima Flavours Sundried Tomato Project which has proven to be an encouragement to farmers to produce.
To help bolster efforts in this regard, recently the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) trained 25 farmers in tomato production.
Since the commencement of the project in 2017, over 100 farmers operating in Bamboo Creek, Bashville and Paramaktoi have been benefiting. This number is likely to increase by 50 as NAREI continues to distribute planting materials throughout the year.
According to NAREI’s Hinterland Coordinator, Mr. Aaron Ramroop, “Transferring knowledge is an important role of the Extension Officer. Under this project we have been training farmers how to produce tomatoes, since for many this is the first time they are producing this crop. We recently trained 25 farmers who are new to tomato production.”
Thus far, 15,000 seedlings were distributed and another 5,000 seedlings are likely to be transported to the Region shortly. The institute has set a target of donating 30,000 seedlings this year. It had surpassed its 2018 target of distributing 25,000 seedlings.
Ramroop related that the seedlings are being distributed in batches of 5,000. The first batch was delivered to farmers about seven weeks ago. Those plants are likely to blossom and bear fruits within three weeks. Throughout, the production period NAREI will be providing technical support to farmers to ensure they follow proper agricultural practices.
According to Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, the response from farmers is an indication that the collaboration between NAREI, the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), and the Ministries of Indigenous Peoples’ Affairs, and Social Protection is a beneficial one to the communities involved.
“NAREI has been providing the tomato seedlings free of cost to farmers. We believe that this donation will benefit the economies of these hinterland communities. We see other farmers are being encouraged by the financial benefits. They also want to plant tomatoes because of the price they are getting for their produce,” Dr. Homenauth said.
He said that Extension Services staffers of NAREI were recently invited to a statutory meeting of the Farmers’ Association to discuss the Institute’s involvement in the project. The meeting highlighted the importance of this project to the villages as well as individual families.
Last year, 18,000 pounds of fresh tomatoes was produced by over 50 farmers compared to 7,000 pounds produced by 25 farmers in 2017. In addition, to the financial benefits for farmers, the increase in fresh produce means that there is adequate supply for the production of the Pakaraima Flavoured Ketchup and Pakaraima Flavoured Salad Dressing.
The products are processed by IAST and are available on shelves in the Guyana Marketing Corporation’s Guyana Shop and several leading local supermarkets including Bounty Supermarket.
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