The Ministry of Agriculture today hosted its inaugural Independence Seed and Seedling Distribution Drive in observance of Guyana’s 55th Independence Anniversary.
The simple yet significant exercise targeted persons from Georgetown to promote the establishment of kitchen gardening in every home in the country.
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, while offering brief remarks and independence greetings to those in attendance, said the event was a way of promoting the Ministry and by extension, the government’s plan to get everyone involved in agriculture.
“Although this event might be viewed as a simple exercise, it is important to us as a Ministry and as a country. Today, we’ve restarted something that existed many years ago. This exercise should not be seen as a simple seed distribution exercise. Today, we are promoting what we intend to do because we are experiencing a revolution in the agriculture sector.
“Over the last few months, the government has demonstrated the way agriculture should be done, by first instilling in the people the importance of planting and returning to the field. With agriculture, we intend to create jobs, create wealth, and most importantly, create food security. Several countries in the region are once again looking to Guyana to take up that leading role in agriculture and we must ensure every citizen is empowered and given the necessary resources to get involved,” Minister Mustapha expressed.
The exercise, which took place at the Ministry’s head office, attracted persons from Georgetown, the East Coast of Demerara, and other parts of Region Four, who received a variety of fruits and vegetables seeds and seedlings. Some of the available seedlings included cherries, guava, carambola (five-finger), and passion fruit. Persons also received cucumber, poi, sweet and hot peppers, bora, and boulanger seeds, just to name a few.
Director-General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Madanlall Ramraj while offering brief remarks said constraints with space often hinder agriculture in Georgetown. However, the Director-General maintained that utilizing the spaces that are available to develop kitchen gardens will help to supplement the income of every household.
“Last week Minister Mustapha met with residents from East Ruimveldt and encouraged them to supplement their income by developing kitchen gardens. In Georgetown, space is often limited but some amount of planting can be done. Today’s activity allows us to get back to the land. We thought it necessary to have an event targeting Georgetown because we believe that persons residing in the City should also be involved in agriculture,” Mr. Ramraj said.
Chief Executive Officer of the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Jagnarine Singh, echoed similar sentiments as the Director-General. The CEO said, in addition to supplementing one’s income, developing kitchen gardens will also improve the nutritional intake of every household. He further cited the significance of hosting such an event during the International Year of Fruits and Vegetables.
