Natural and Organic Products in Guyana - Volunteer Johnson Bliss

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Increasing demand for better quality vegetables free of inorganic fertilizers and pesticides is driving producers and homeowners to produce natural/organic vegetables. Farmers have long known that vegetable products grown with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides are inferior to the same vegetables grown with organic/natural techniques. Consumers have also picked up on this fact and have become perplexed at the inadequacy of such products on the local market. They are often pushed to grow their own food in backyards but in limited quantities. 

On the flipside, it is believed that most consumers do not understand that it costs more to produce organic/natural commodities, and farmers are often forced to sell their produce at prices similar to those grown with inorganic fertilizers and pesticides. A growing, more informed middle class is willing to pay extra money for organic/natural commodities but the supply is lacking and there are no guaranties.  

Noting the demand for organic/natural products and the shift in Guyanese lifestyle for more naturally produced foods, Partners of the Americas' Farmer to Farmer Program hosted Mr. Johnson Bliss, an Organic Certification Inspector from the US who volunteered his services in Guyana for three weeks. The main objective of the assignment was to train NAREI’s extension staff and local producers on natural/organic production methods. Apart from NAREI, the grougs that benefited were PRO Beldad + Future Leaders Cooperative Society Ltd., Gibraltar - Fyrish Farmers group, Bath Settlement Farmers Group and the Permaculture - Sahakari Group.

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