FFTP sustainable agricultural project to benefit 25 Baramita families

Nov 21, 2021 News

Kaieteur News – Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc. (FFTP) has commenced an eight-week Sustainable Agricultural Project in Baramita Village, Marataki Sub District, North West Region One. This project, according to a FFTP release, will benefit and change the lives of 25 families including nine females.

Food for the Poor (Guyana) Inc. takes its sustainable agricultural programme to Baramita, Region One

The project aims to promote and improve food security in the community and reduce hunger through sustainable agriculture. Farmers in the target area are being trained in crop cultivation using the Farmer Field School method of training which promotes and encourages onsite field training that includes experiments and analysis, and best practices relative to resources available in one’s environment.
The other areas of training are planning for plant husbandry cultivation – what will be produced in the future, mapping out the area for cultivation, soil improvement, seeding and planting, monitoring of crops, the importance of watering the cultivation, insect and disease control and harvesting and storing.
The training commenced on Monday, November 15, 2021, and will last the entire cultivation cycle. Monitoring and evaluation will be done during the life of the project.
The Consultant, Mr. John Woolford, who has been specialising in sustainable agriculture in the Hinterland communities for over 40 years, emphasised the importance of good agricultural practices, sustainability, and nutritional farming. The sessions were very interactive.
Farmers were given the task of drawing the layout of their farm and the areas of weaknesses in their plots were identified. They were also tasked with bringing some of their produce from their farm.
A practical session was done where a plot of land was prepared for planting, the importance of the depth to dig to avoid acid soil was emphasised as well as how to improve the soil by using the resources within the environment, how to create a fence with plants you can eat and the tools to use to increase field productivity while reducing environmental stress.
Some farmers highlighted that this was a great opportunity and they have learned new farming techniques, and will be incorporating it into how they farm.
All 25 families were provided with simple agricultural tools (a fork, one hoe, one pickaxe, two machetes, two pairs of rain boots, and one shovel) and seeds to assist with cultivation.
FFTP, with funding from Food For the Poor (Canada), has been actively involved in building the capacity and empowering the people of Baramita village, Marataki Sub District, North West, Region One.
In January 2020, a two storey multi-purpose building was handed over to the community for technical and vocational training and community gatherings.
Also, an interactive learning centre is being established to promote early and remedial learning. The centre will be equipped with work books, a smart television, two 10″ amazon tablets, loaded with learning materials, learning aids, primary and early secondary text books, stuff toy, etc.
Children ages 4-16 will benefit from the resources available in the library which is set to be formally handed over to the community in the first week of December, 2021.
The community has also benefited from FFTP’s distribution programme; an average of 90 families recently received food items and clothing. In 2020, support was provided to the community to combat the spread of COVID-19; mask and cleaning items were distributed to over 300 hundred households.