‘Two heads still better than one’

Supervisor of the Wales Estate, National Industrial Commercial and Investments Limited (NICIL) Charles Brown left this age-old idiom with good effect with the recently-formed Farmers Advancement Network (FAN).
“I had suggested to these farmers that by coming together they can achieve far more than what they are currently. As such, the advice was taken and last year an executive body was elected with the group also preparing a constitution. They are now finalizing the final aspect of their registration and I remain confident that with the interest and determination being shown by most of the members that they would certainly go a far way,” Brown explained.

FAN has more than 70 members who were former employees of the state-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) which was forced over the years to shut down several estates legacy of the country’s former colonial era.
“When we closed the Wales Estate, we sought various avenues to help in ensuring that lands that were once used for sugar production can be effectively and efficiently utilised. As such, we recognised that a number of former sugar workers were using the lands for various agricultural proposes… to continue generating an income,” Brown said in an exclusive interview.
The response was overwhelming.
“There were barrages of requests coming in as many persons were seeking to grab as much land as possible with the view that they were going to engage in some form of agricultural production. We had persons seeking to do cattle rearing, while others sought to do cash crop production and some even wanted to venture into food processing, so the requests were coming from everywhere,” Brown disclosed.
As part of their routine, the group meets weekly to hammer out details to guide the new entity, especially on matters of marketing for their produce.
“These farmers plant individually…from peas, corn, peppers, eggplants, bora etc. but when they are ready to sell, they do it collectively to one buyer who takes whatever they have in whatever amounts they have. This will help them as while the price being offered is not superb the farmers are satisfied and confident that as they grow in production so shall the demand for their produce too,” Brown said.
Furthermore, “these farmers are happy as they do not have to leave their farms to go and seek markets as the buyer comes to them. They plant, reap and sell from the comfort of their gardens. The excellent thing is that they sell collectively but paid individually so it’s not a case where their monies are paid over to the group but rather each farmer receives his/her payment directly.”

NICIL’s ‘two heads better that one’ policy clearly favours the Framers Advancement Network, Brown emphasised.
“The businessman takes everything that they reap and he has assured the that he will continue to take whatever they reap when they increase their production so their markets are guaranteed,” he declared.