By Nicole Telford
Agriculture is in a dire state in Lethem, Region 9, where the community is grappling with severe shortages of farine, cassava, and its byproducts. Village Voice News spoke with former Region 9 Regional Executive Officer Carl Parker, who attributed these shortages to the ineffective management of Guyana’s Agriculture Sector and poor planning by the Minister and various agricultural department heads.
Parker emphasized that the region’s agricultural sector is being crippled by inadequate government infrastructure and lack of support for sustainable farming practices. He stated, “The region is suffering because of the lack of government infrastructure to plough and irrigate the lands for the facilitation of large-scale ground provision and cash crop vegetable farming.”
Parker also highlighted the challenges faced by farmers in accessing financial support. He pointed out that financial agencies need more experienced lenders with backgrounds in the economics of farming. “The banks and lending agencies need to have experienced people in farming economics to understand the nature of lending to farmers,” he said. This expertise would not only aid in better land preparation but also provide farmers with confidence in their ability to repay loans.
He noted that farmers are often frustrated by the difficulty in securing adequate funding. “Farmers are submitting proposals to the lending agencies for large-scale farming projects but are instead being offered a quarter of the proposal’s target. This, along with the wait time to process the loans, is frustrating farmers in the area,” Parker explained.
Parker underscored the importance of farine and cassareep, staples of the Indigenous diet, which are now in short supply. Farine, an Indigenous food staple, and cassareep, a syrup made from cassava, are not only consumed and made mostly by Guyana’s Indigenous Peoples but are also national staples in dishes like Pepper pot and stews. These foods are essential for the growth and development of Indigenous communities, Parker noted.
He also raised concerns about the health implications of the agricultural decline. “Our Indigenous brothers and sisters are suffering from hypertension and diabetes, as their diets have changed to more unhealthy options purchased from Brazilian owned stores,” he said. Parker linked these health issues to the lack of traditional ground provisions and the increased consumption of imported staples.
