Hydroponics Farm targets CARICOM market

An initiative to supply the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) with healthy vegetables is paying dividends as a hydroponics farm in Guyana reaped a bumper first crop harvest recently.

The groundbreaking hydroponic project – the Victoria Greens Hydroponic Farm – located at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Mon Repos, on Guyana’s East Coast, is one of the most advanced farming structures in the Caribbean, the Department of Public Information (DPI) said Wednesday.

During an interview with the DPI, Greenhouse Operator, Aneisha Azore, explained that the primary goal is to supply the CARICOM region with healthy, high-quality food, mainly fresh vegetables.

“We will begin to harvest lettuce, pakchoi, basil, kale, rocket, and mustard…We will be harvesting 600 heads of pakchoi, and over 650 heads of lettuce. The basil, kale, rocket, and mustard, added together is over 1,000 clusters of those herbs,” Azore highlighted.  

The news comes as CARICOM is ramping up efforts to achieve its 25 by 2025 vision which aims to reduce the Region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025. President of Guyana, His Excellency Mohamed Irfaan Ali, as lead Head of Government with responsibility for Agriculture and Agricultural Development in the CARICOM Quasi Cabinet, is piloting the initiative.

Earlier this week, President Ali showcased transformational agriculture projects at NARIE to the Hon. Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Barbados, and the Hon. Philip Pierre, Prime Minister of Saint Lucia. During the visit, the CARICOM Heads of Government toured the large hydroponics facility, onion farm and shade houses where high-value crops such as cauliflower, kale, habanero, lettuce, cucumbers, onions, and chillies are being produced.

Read more at: Department of Public Information

Source: CARICOM TODAY