Excess reducin
With some shoppers noticing that their vegetables have been much more perishable than usual, Chief Executive Officer of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr Oudho Homenauth says it could be as a result of farmers using too much nitrogen fertiliser.
“When I buy me greens now for the week, it ain’t lasting. The bora, pumpkin, everything spoiling and getting soft, soft,” a shopper at the Bourda Market told Sunday Stabroek.
Another pointed out that in the past if one kept vegetables too long in the refrigerator, they usually lost moisture and became dry but now they are becoming “slush” after a few days.
One vendor in the market admitted to this newspaper that he has seen this trend and has received complaints.
“That is why now if you see I only selling pumpkin and provision because it ain’t making sense and I only buying from one set of people,” the vendor said.
Another vendor said it could be how the vegetables are being stored but added that he had not noticed a shorter shelf life nor had he received complaints.
Others refused to engage this newspaper on the issue but shoppers in general had one consensus: that the vegetables are not lasting as long as they used to. “This thing is really upsetting and what I start doing is buying almost every day. That is hard but it better than me losing money,” a shopper said.
While some have speculated that the use of pesticides could be a cause, Dr Homenauth put this fear to rest and said the only explanation could be the excessive use of nitrogen. He said while he himself has not made the observation nor has