In a little known Region Nine area, nestles Santa Fe, which in English translates to Holy Faith. It is an area that will surely amaze persons who see it for the first time. In this remote interior savannah, Santa Fe is blossoming, bringing forth, fruits, vegetables, ground provisions and more importantly, rice.
Ministers of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Alli Baksh viewing some of the items produced on the Santa Fe integrated mega farm in Region 9
Santa Fe is a mega farm project undertaken by a Barbadian company that has set up a thriving establishment, and in June a bumper crop of rice is expected. Thus far 120 acres of rice is being cultivated.
Recently, Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Minister in the Ministry Alli Baksh and a team from the Ministry journeyed to Region 9 where they visited and interacted with the Blue Wave investors and staff at the mega farm.
Employment
The project, which is being managed and supervised by Guyanese Mr. Richard Vasconcellos, is rapidly moving apace.
Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy observing the progress with the rice that is to be harvested in June
Minister Ramsammy said he heard a lot of people saying that the Jagdeo Initiative is a waste of time, however, at Santa Fe there are rice, fruits, vegetables and ground provision being produced and pump stations and other facilities being constructed to accommodate other services.
Importantly, the venture is being undertaken through a combination of local and international expertise. Of the 60 employees on the site, 57 are Guyanese from Region 9 and the remainder is Brazilian consultants.
Jagdeo initiative
“The Jagdeo Initiative was intended for food security and nutrition security in the Caribbean… Santa Fe is one of the first examples of Caribbean people responding to (former) President Jagdeo’s call to invest in agriculture in our country,” Minister Ramsammy said.
Ministers of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Alli Baksh preparing to plant a tree to symbolise their visit to the Santa Fe mega farm, Region 9
He thanked the Simpson Family from Barbados for responding to Guyana’s call. Discussions and the strategy established for this project commenced in 2010 with former President Jagdeo.
“This is another example not only of the Jagdeo Initiative working, but the amount of food that will be produced at Santa Fe will be beyond anything that Region 9 can consume, and therefore Santa Fe is meeting another objective of the Jagdeo Initiative which is that Guyana becomes firmly established as the food basket of the Caribbean,” Minister Ramsammy emphasised.
The team examining rice seeds
Further, in meeting that obligation it shows that every part of Guyana can play a role, and in so doing, they would be adding to the country’s portfolio as an export nation.
1,000 acres
Along with the cultivated areas, Santa Fe has almost completed the establishment of a state-of-the-art rice factory coupled with huge silos which will be used to store the paddy harvested from these large fields.
The project will be expanding the current cultivation by an additional 980 acres by the end of June 2013. This will give a total of 1000 acres of upland rice being cultivated with the zero tillage technology/method. This achievement will mean that rice would no-longer have to be transported to Lethem from Georgetown or Brazil.
The rice mill at the Santa Fe farm, Region Nine is still under construction
“What I am seeing here in Santa Fe is an impressive operation and it is multi-purpose,” Minister Baksh posited.
He noted that the project is intended to be extended and will see not only the cultivation of rice, but will include soya, beans, rearing of cattle, sheep, aquaculture and pigs in the future.
A large area under beans cultivation
“This is a vast investment, and, we from the Ministry of Agriculture are very satisfied so far. Looking at this project at its initial stage a lot of investment has already been done,” the Minister acknowledged.
He added that within the one-year period a lot has been done and the investors must be commended for taking on such a herculean task.
Technology
Minister Ramsammy highlighted the need for Guyanese to be trained in new and innovative technology; in this regard the Santa Fe venture stands as a good example of where Guyana wants to be in terms of expanding agriculture. He reiterated that President Donald Ramotar and former President Jagdeo have both endorsed that Guyana must not be shy to bring in technology and the people who can introduce the technology.
“Brazil is one of the global economic giants, it has developed its own technology, its own plant varieties and Guyana has looked to Europe and North America often. We should not stop looking there, but at the same time we shouldn’t be looking one way … we should be looking next door to our neighbour which has been successful and has become one of the top 20 economies in the world,” Minister Ramsammy stressed.
The Santa Fe Project which is taking an Integrated Mega Farm approach is expected to utilise savannah land for soya beans, as well as corn cultivation which will be mainly used for animal feed production locally and regionally. This will help the Caribbean reduce its total import of these essential foods from North America and other Regions and allow for trading and expanded markets within the Region.
It is also embarking on the cultivation of cassava, watermelons, passion fruits and other cash crops as well as some other perennials, and would be seeking to include livestock such as cattle, sheep, goats and poultry on the mega farm.
Santa Fe’s Consultants assured Minister Ramsammy that they will share all their knowledge and skills with persons manning other projects such as the St. Ignatius Shade House project and the Moco Moco rice/beans project, hence reducing cost, and providing the necessary skills to villagers to manage those projects and ensure that they are sustainable.
