Orealla fruit factory to be resuscitated

THE Orealla Fruit Cheese Factory is set to be resuscitated following a promise made by Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, when he and a team that included Natural Resources Minister, Vickram Bharrat, visited the community over the past weekend.

The factory is expected to provide gainful employment to residents. The factory was built two decades ago by a Belgium couple for the production of fruit cheese. They produced the cheese for five years while enjoying a niche market across Europe and the Caribbean.
After they left, the factory was placed in the hands of an all-female committee and the factory ceased operation sometime after, due to a decline in demand for the fruit cheese and damaged equipment.

Since then the residents have been feverishly seeking to get the factory re-opened. A promise by the previous administration in 2017 never materialised and now Minister Mustapha has made a promise to see the re-opening and diversification of the said factory to add value to produce from the community.

“I know for a fact that you had a factory; it is not working. I want to work along with you and the community and bring back this equipment and that factory so that the community can once again get a viable economic activity going on. So we will work with you to get it back into operation and start back that kind of production in the community,” he told residents.

Carl Penux, the toshao of the villages expressed optimism and excitement of the many possibilities the factory can bring.

“We can do packaging of cassava bread, casreep, different chips, jam and so much more but, more importantly, it will provide employment for the women,” he told the Guyana Chronicle.

The Agriculture Minister also promised to provide support to the current crops being farmed in Orealla such as citrus, pineapple, plantain, cassava and other ground provisions.

“We will assist you all, and we will try to help and work with you to develop this sector and develop these crops,” he said.

He also urged farmers to continue in the agriculture sector while seeking to venture into non-traditional crops such as soya bean and corn since there is a demand for same on the local market.

NEW CROPS

“We want to implement new crops and we want to ensure you be part of it. We are giving incentives for farmers who are willing to start corn and soya bean because, over the years, we have recognised that we have been importing it and it cost $30M annually to import corn for feed production in the poultry sector,” the minister said.

In an effort to boost the dairy sector, the agriculture minister has pledged to assist Raymond Herman, a new dairy farmer with 10 rolls of barbed wires. A team from the National Agricultural Research Extension Institute (NAREI) will also return and provide vaccination as well as seeds for grass for his animals and those of the other dairy farmers in the area.

Meanwhile, the communities of Orealla and Siparuta which are known for logging have decried exploitation by sawmills and wholesalers. According to residents, they are often being given 50 per cent of the value of their products when they reach the town of Corriverton due to minor defects.
As such, they are calling for assistance in getting a piece of land where they can store their logs and rough lumber to wholesale and retail themselves without being at the mercy of those that they supply.

Minister Bharrat, in responding to the call, noted that the request will have to be examined and the information will be fed back to the community.

NOT MAKING EMPTY PROMISES

He, however, noted that the Government is not going to make empty promises by saying the land will be made available but will seek to find a viable solution for all, so that the residents can get the desired results.

In addition, the team reiterated the Government’s pledge to fulfill the manifesto promises and reverse all the harsh measures imposed by the previous administration.
Among the decisions taken was to re-hire 10 Community Service Officers (CSO) immediately to service the two communities. Under the previous administration, over 1,700 Amerindian
CSOs were fired when they took office.

The Irfaan Ali administration had promised, on the campaign trail, to re-hire the workers. This decision to have the 10 CSOs immediately reinstated was met with a resounding applause.
Further, the agriculture minister has tasked the community to identify an individual to be trained as extension officer. This person will be posted in the community permanently to provide technical assistance for farmers.

Meanwhile, the COVID-19 relief cash grant rolled out in the communities of Orealla and Siparuta on Monday. Regional Coordinator, Zamal Hussain, stated that 325 households will be receiving the grant. They are hoping to complete the region by the weekend where some 53,000 households will each receive $25,000.