Agriculture

1.0 Introduction

Agriculture in Guyana began on a major scale as a colonial activity with cultivation of cotton, sugar cane and rice among other crops.  The need to supply estates with labour resulted in the introduction of slaves and indentured servants, whose descendants make up the majority of the current Guyanese population.

In Guyana two major crops, sugar cane and rice are produced on a large monocultural scale. Demerara sugar derives its name from the Demerara region in Guyana where a lot of the sugar cane is grown to produce brown sugar. Mixed cropping is done on a smaller scale and involves alot of 'cash crops' often including the likes of tomato and lettuce. Most of the fruit are grown on large tracts of land behind villages, as well as in other areas. The main fruit crops include bananas, mangoes, citrus, watermelons, pineapples, genips and cherries.  Coconuts grow in various parts, noteably in the Mahaica - Mahaicony region.  Pineapples and peanuts are significant crops cultivated in fields of sandy soil away from the coastal region. Non traditional crops such as cashew nuts, cocoa and coffee are being encouraged in interior locations.

 

1.1 Economic benefit

Agriculture is a major contributor to the Guyanese economy, especially  the major crops - rice and sugar. Most of the cultivation is done on the coast land which is most suitable, i.e. fine clay.

Rice is often cultivated by private farmers on a medium scale, (see plate 1)  while most of the sugar is cultivated by the Guyana Sugar Cooperation (GUYSUCO). Other crops, mainly fruit and vegetables are cultivated on a relatively smaller scale by farmers in farms and plots of land throughout the country.

Apart from crop cultivation other activities include cattle and poultry rearing, as well as fish farming to a lesser extent. It should be noted that a significant amount of cattle rearing occurs in the Rupununi Region, on the other side of the country. Poultry industry is growing and is a significant part of the livestock sector in Guyana.

Many people in Guyana are employed, or depend indirectly on the agricultural sector and therefore it is major issue in considering the environmental situation in Guyana.
 

Plate 1. Rice field in Essequibo

 

1.2 Environmental impacts

1.2.1    Pollution
The impact of agriculture on the coastland is notable. The introduction and widespread use of DDT () a few decades ago is believed to have caused a reduction in the population of certain birds such as the Carrion Crow and the Chicken Hawk. Intense agricultural practices and careless farmers can cause a significant amount of pesticides and chemicals to be present in the surface water which crisscross the coastland in canals and drains. As a direct result of this, contaminated freshwater fish which often consumed by people can affect the food chain.

1.2.2    Ecological disturbances                             
Large scale conversion of lands for agricultural development such as the The Mahaica/Mahaicony/Abary-Agricultural Development Scheme which is aimed at providing drainage and irrigation services to the farmers in the area, which encompass three rivers and the areas in between. This particular project was developed in 1986 to service an area of 150,000 acres. The conservancy - a huge flooded area was created, wiping out the natural wildlife and disrupting the local ecosystem. This project, along with other significant agricultural land conversion schemes before 1996 are unlikely to have been subjected to an Environmental Impact Assessment, and may have untold impacts.

1.2.3    Land use conflicts
The demand of land for agriculture, particularly the area between the Demerara and Berbice rivers, has also caused land use conflicts on the most densely populated part of the coast. Apart from agriculture, other demands on the coast include housing, industry, roads, commercial and recreational uses.
 


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