Article from Guyana times
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Agriculture In Guyana takes new course

Businessmen Brain yong and Liran peretz are venturing away from their usual business enterprises to undertake a more traditional business venture with a modern twist.
the businessmen will now be dividing their time and energies between the air- conditioned offices of " broadband satellite" and " moviestar" and 200 acres of farmland right under the sun on the linden/ soesdyke highway. " why?" you may ask. the answer is " shigam", a technologically- advanced commercial ag ricultural farm to be launched in another six months' time.
peretz, an israeli by birth, who's been living in antigua and guyana for a number of years and yong, a guyanese entrepre neur, noted that their project is a unique venture that will take guyana away from the traditional commercial farming of rice and sugar cane.
" the real gold in guyana is its land and water", says peretz, who attributed this fact along with the climate of the country as the main reasons why guyana was chosen for this project.
peretz noted that the soil on the linden/ soesdyke highway is primarily sandy, but this will not pose a problem for the project.
he stated that though there are those that doubt this type of farming can be done at this location, he and yong have the tech nology to put the naysayers to rest. the drip- irrigation technol ogy, which has been developed in israel, will provide the so lution to this contentious soil issue. drip irrigation, known as trickle irrigation or micro- irrigation is a method which allows water and fertilizer to drip slowly to the roots of plants, either onto the soil surface or directly onto the root zone, through a network of valves, pipes, tubing, and emitters. peretz added that the technology is an eco- friendly one, since it helps to mini mize the amount of water used for farming.
commercial and contract farming are the focus
the farm will take some two years to be fully operational; in six months' time, shigam should be in the process of plant ing their first crop, which will include papayas, melons, cherry tomatoes, sweet potatoes and butternut squash.
the project, which has two major components: commercial and contract farming, is being lauded as a high- tech venture which will rely for the most part on guess what? technology, yes! commercial farming essentially means that shigam will be utilising their land to grow certain fruits and vegetables, which will then be packed right there at the farm's packaging facility and exported to europe, the united states and the caribbean.
however, the main market will be europe since there is a high demand there for the fruits and vegetables to be grown at shigam. yong and peretz already have european union certifi - cation to export to the major supermarkets in europe including tessco in the united kingdom.
contract farming , on the other hand, will allow local farm ers the opportunity to utilise their own land to plant the crops in demand, which shigam will then package and export. peretz and yong noted that the farmers will be guided along the pro cess since shigam will have very high standards. the farmers will be provided with advice and training to guarantee high standards. the packaging house facility will be made available to the farmers along with seeds for cultivation. peretz and yong pointed out that the contract farming initiative is being done in collaboration with the united states agency for international development and the linden economic advancement programme.
shigam can be a model of innovative farming that combines traditional techniques and new technology
peretz noted that shigam is also partnering with guyana marketing corporation ( gmc) to link farmers and buyers lo cally.
the gmc and shigam will operate a database which will provide informatio n about the farmers, their crops and the availability of those crops. yong and peretz also plan on producing a forum via the internet where farmers and buyers can connect and communicate worldwide. the website will allow the market to access these farmers and inquire about products and availability. shigam will begin its contract farming with farmers from along the linden/ soesdyke highway and then ex pand to include other areas.
in an invited comment, robert persaud, minister of agriculture said government was presented with an impres sive proposal for the venture. the land and the traditional investment incentives along with certain conditions to ensure that the project succeeds were already made available. " this project can be a model in terms of the utilisation of traditional techniques and new technology," the minister said. " if we can penetrate the european market with crops other than rice and sugar, it would mark a significant turning point in our agricul tu re.
the government welcomes the development and is eagerly awaiting the completion of the farm so that the proposal can become a reality for guyana," he added. yong and peretz noted that this project will bring the next generation of farming to guyana. " farming will no longer be looked down upon as a pro fession and this project will see people, especially young people, taking farming seriously. this will change people's perspective on farming and show that farming is a money- making venture, once it is done correctly and dedicatedly."
guyana's natural resources are the biggest assets for shigam
guyana, according to peretz, has the potential to be the main exporter, in the region, of these vegetables and fruits that are presently exported by countries in north america. he fur ther stated that guyana's natural resources are their biggest assets and with this type of project, which provides diversion from the traditional commercial farming of ric e and sugar cane, guyana can succeed in being the premier producer of these fruits and vegetables.
shigam will create employment for approximately 200 guyanese. peretz stated that the current farm in antigua is be ing managed by guyanese.
the one of a kind venture is the brain child of peretz's fa ther, moshe peretz. it is also a tried and tested endeavour, which has been successful in antigua and yong and peretz are confident that the same degree or perhaps more can be achieved for guyana.