Press Release – Orealla/Siparuta get extension officer
– villages included in 2021 Black Giant programme
Following an outreach earlier this month to the villages of Orealla and Siparuta, located in the Corentyne River, Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha disclosed that an extension officer has been identified and will commence working soon.
“After we met with residents and they indicated that there was need for a resident extension officer, we were able to identify a qualified person. Her name is Reyanna DeGrella. We’ve commenced the process for her to start work in the two villages but due to the recent travel restrictions to and from the villages due to the increase in COVID-19 cases, she is unable to travel to Georgetown to complete the official procedure. We are working with village officials to have arrangements in place for this process to be completed as soon as possible,” Minister Mustapha said.
During the outreach, farmers from Orealla appealed to Minister Mustapha for Government to assist them with becoming self-sufficient in poultry. Requests were also made for assistance with materials to improve their pasture.
As a follow up to those requests, Minister Mustapha said that both Orealla and Siparuta will benefit from the Ministry’s 2021 Black Giant programme.
“We have an ongoing Black Giant poultry initiative targeting hinterland communities and other vulnerable areas. The aim of the initiative is for these communities to become self-sufficient in poultry production. We’ve had successes with this initiative so far and we will be extending it to Orealla and Siparuta come 2021. I’ve already instructed the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) to include these villages in their upcoming programme. We will also be including a number of other hinterland communities that have been overlooked in the past. As it relates to materials to improve their pastures, I’ve engaged the head of GLDA and the materials will be handed over to the village before the end of the year,” Minister Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha also stated that requests by residents for assistance with identifying an area for them to sell their produce at Springlands is also being addressed.
“We are in dialogue with the Regional Officials. Only today we were in contact with the Regional Vice Chairman about the matter. We will now approach the Regional Mayor and City Council on the matter since that is the body with the authority to identify the area best suited for the farmers. When I spoke with the residents during the outreach, I said that we have to ensure the area identified is developed and suitable for them to sell their produce. They would need to have access to washroom facilities and proper garbage disposal, among other things,” Minister Mustapha said.
During the outreach, residents also received a number of seeds and Acoushi ant bait as part of the Ministry’s seed and bait distribution exercise that was reintroduced under the current administration.