“It’s a great joy to see the smiles on farmers’ faces” – Dr Faith Harding

By Danielle CampbBell

As scientists continue to discover more medicinal uses for sorrel, child psychologist Dr Faith Harding is confident that a pilot project to cultivate tonnes of the plant in Guyana will become a whirlwind phenomenon that can take the country’s foreign exchange earnings by storm.

Farmers at Long Creek on the Linden/ Soesdyke Highway are equally fascinated by the prospects of exporting large quantities of sorrel to Mexico after reaping over 100 pounds of the high-value fruit three months before the expected harvesting period.
The Long Creek/ Newton Farmers Group began reaping sorrel around 08: 00h on Monday and by midmorning had already harvested 67 pounds of the much sought-after fruit. The sorrel project, the brainchild of Dr Harding under her recently-launched Quick Impact Programme (QIP), aims to lead communities out of poverty through a collaborative effort of self-help and technical assistance.
Project coordinator Michael De Abreu described the project as fruitful and feasible, stating that the QIP pilot is very beneficial to the community as a means of ensuring the sustainability of future generations.
The part-time coordinator of farm activities is also a licensed woodcutter and is responsible for getting the group of 28 women and six men together. Detailing some of the hiccups the group has encountered, De Abreu said water is a major source of difficulty at the moment and the harvesting is very labour intensive. “Planting is not a problem, but the picking and shelling is where we need the labour so if the entire community comes on board, it would be easier. We can get a crop growing just using the fertilisers and water.”
Due to the recent dry spell, De Abreu noted that the acoushi ants are also causing a problem, hence the need for chemicals. “Once it’s the rainy season, then the ants don’t come around. You can conquer the acoushi, because once they find water in the fields, they wouldn’t trouble anything,” De Abreu said.

Many uses
Technical sorrel expert Eric Quallis said the plant can be used to treat skin conditions, diabetes, and hypertension, and is used in perfumes, tea, drink mix, candies, jellies, jams, and other preserves. According to Quallis, the plants have been growing regardless of the water situation, confirming that it has been about six weeks since the plants got water. “But if we are to speak of maximum yield, the water, along with the organic fertiliser, would assist greatly.
Two varieties
Agricultural scientist and voluntary advisor Walter Matadial revealed that there are two varieties of sorrel. The local variety is light sensitive and can be harvested around the November/ December period, irrespective of when it is planted. The other variety, which was sourced from Jamaica, is not light sensitive and, therefore, can be harvested in six to eight weeks. “We don’t know as yet how much yield per acre we will get, but in the months to follow we can get some good figures after this harvest, so we can tell the other farmers to grow sorrel.”
The market in Mexico requires many metric tonnes of sorrel which means that the QIP cannot only rely on Long Creek for sorrel, but seeds will be distributed to other communities to meet the demand.
Once the sorrels are shelled, dried, and packaged, they will be shipped aboard and fetch US$ 12 per pound depending on the moisture content. Farmers at Laluni have been growing sorrel for 12 years, but have been using the local variety, which is seasonal and therefore available only at certain times each year.
“But since we have this new variety, once we get the overseas markets organised, then we have to increase production rapidly to accommodate tonnes of sorrel,” Matadial said.
Dr Harding, who was ecstatic about the sorrel being harvested before time and the likelihood of sourcing overseas markets besides Mexico, said the prospects are simply fantastic. “At the moment, we are exporting to Mexico. They have a great interest in importing sorrels from Guyana. The expectation is that we will get the best price,” Dr Harding remarked. She noted that sorrel can fetch a high price due to its organic nature as they have been grown with poultry waste as the only fertiliser.
“So it’s a lucrative market and it’s building on Guyana’s foreign exchange revenue. This for me is a great joy to have farmers who have land that was underutilised or not used at all to grow a product that is easily done. Here we will have people making lots of money and that is my reward,” a beaming Dr Harding related.
She pointed out that her group will soon be moving to secure the German market, which is the second largest sorrel importer in the world. “I can just see the smiles of the faces of the farmers and their families. The project has already expanded to Moraikabai, an Amerindian reservation in Region Five and other areas in Region Six.”