Pomeroon coconut farmers to benefit from high-yielding variety to boost production
--coffee production also expected to commence soon
Coconut farmers residing in the Pomeroon region in Region Two will soon benefit from planting materials from the Ministry of Agriculture to boost coconut production.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha made this disclosure over the weekend while in the region spearheading a series of community meetings.
He told those in attendance that the government has been making a lot of investments in the region to resuscitate the productive sectors. With coconut being the third most lucrative crop in Guyana, Minister Mustapha said that 100 farmers from the Pomeroon will soon receive Brazilian Green Dwarf seed nuts to expand their cultivation.
“A lot of farmers who have plantations have older trees that are not producing the amount of coconuts they used to. This is why, as Minister of Agriculture, I’ve decided to implement a programme whereby one hundred coconut farmers from the Pomeroon will receive about 7,000 high-yielding Brazilian Green Dwarf seed nuts to cultivate. As you know, this variety produces a sweeter and higher volume of coconut water and bears after about three years. This will be a game-changer,” he explained.
Minister Mustapha said that this variety is very productive and that it will enable both farmers and agro-processors to satisfy the increasing local demand for coconut and coconut-related products, as well as tap into lucrative foreign markets. He also said that the global value for coconut water is expected to exceed US $11 billion and that the government was making the resources available to ensure Guyana benefits from that industry.
Coffee Production
Minister Mustapha also told farmers that the government through the Ministry will soon resuscitate coffee production in the Pomeroon. He disclosed that coffee germplasm will soon arrive from Costa Rica to assist with supplying the necessary planting materials to redevelop the industry there.
“We are also looking to have other permanent crops grown that were cultivated here in the past. Very shortly we’ll start the reintroduction of cocoa and coffee in the Pomeroon. You know this area used to produce a lot of coffee. The germplasm will be coming from Costa Rica soon so that we can begin to distribute planting materials to farmers in the Pomeroon. Our technical officers and specialists will also work along with you to develop your plots so that we can resuscitate coffee production,” the minister added.
Back in August 2022, the government announced plans to restart coffee cultivation in the Pomeroon Region Two area. Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha explained that the goal was to supply the local coffee market within three years.
Minister Mustapha also said that the ministry was actively working to make all the planting materials for the permanent crops free of cost to farmers in the Pomeroon. Furthermore, he said that farmers are also benefiting from a series of works to improve their drainage and irrigation, specifically through the “bed and drain”, and block drainage programmes. (Ministry of Agriculture press release)
