The inauguration of the hydroponics site at Guyana’s National Agriculture Research Extension & Institute (NAREI) on April 27 marks a mile-stone in the promotion of innovative agricultural production systems as a model for local Caribbean entrepreneurship. The inauguration is part of a regional project supported by the OAS Development Cooperation Fund (DCF), designed to develop the knowledge and shade-house skills required for the construction and operation of shade-house plant growing facilities in five Caribbean countries.

The project entitled “Provisions: Organic, Hydroponic, and Hybrid system Growing for Caribbean Schools and Model for Local Caribbean Entrepreneurship” addresses two key concerns in the region: adaptation to climate change, and enhanced entrepreneurial activity. In addition, the project will support technical and vocational training through the development of highly-adaptable educational resource materials and curriculum for use in Caribbean schools.

In his remarks during the inauguration, the Minister of Agriculture of Guyana, Leslie Ramsammy emphasized that as a region, “our primary goal has moved from ending poverty --which we have by and large successfully tackled-- to creating wealth through entrepreneurship. The Provisions project encourages this entrepreneurship.” Minister Ramsammy stressed the need to further link technology developments with agriculture, not only to boost competitiveness, but also to cater to new generations of professionals, noting that “young people will not pursue agriculture the same their grandparents and their great-grandparents did.”

The OAS Representative in Guyana, Jean Ricot Dormeus described the inauguration and the project as “a major step forward, because it comes to providing effective training, skills and tools to schools, farmers, extension officers and underprivileged groupings, thus contributing to empower them. In short, it is a project that aims at creating entrepreneurs and disseminating knowledge, while taking advantage of what we have available and addressing the wider issue of climate change.”

Speaking of the way forward, regional Project Coordinator, Leighton Naraine, said that the initiative will “position students to transform science into action, with results that can impact career paths and livelihoods. This may be just the beginning of more widespread use of sustainable, non-traditional farming methods in the Caribbean.”  Guyana’s hydroponics site is the first of five site replications in the Caribbean, to be followed by similar sites in Haiti, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados. 

The OAS provides financial resources for this and other regional projects through its Development Cooperation Fund (formerly FEMCIDI), which is financed by voluntary annual contributions made by the Member States. The seed funding provided to national and multinational initiatives responds to the OAS-SEDI focus on strengthening institutional and human resource capacity, while promoting triangular and south-south cooperation.
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Organic, Hydroponic and Hybrid-System Growing for Caribbean Schools from FEMCIDI on Vimeo.