In the past 15 to 20 years, some pioneering small and medium sized farmers have ventured inland away from their traditional slash and burn corn/food crop systems on the riverine soils and have adopted improved technologies for the cultivation of peanut and cowpea on the sandy soils Savannahs. Some have met with modest success which can be further enhanced by improved market opportunities.

Scientific investigations over the past 10 years have generated technologies in soil management, agronomy, pest management and integrated sustainable agricultural production systems that are appropriate for agricultural development of this ecosystem.

Climate

The climate in the eco-zone is characterized by a mean annual temperature of approximately 26°C and an annual rainfall in excess of 2200mm.  Annual rainfall has a bi-modal distribution that dictates the two crop growing seasons in the area. 

The eco-zone's climatic characteristics are as follows:

Topography

The elevation of the area is between 35 and 85 metres above sea level. Topography grades from gently undulating to somewhat dissected (particularly along the lower reaches of the creeks where the streams have cut deeply in the landscape). It has a dendritic drainage pattern with few perennial streams, some intermittent streams and simple natural drainage ways.

Soils

The soils of the Intermediate Savannahs are eroded remnants of a homogenous Peneplain and consist mainly of white and brown sands. They have been generally classified by the United Nations' Soil Survey as land capability Class 11, moderate agricultural land. Although some thirty-eight different kinds of sods have been identified in the eco-zone, there are three dominant kinds of soils that can be used for agricultural development. These are within the "Brown Sands" group of sods but vary in productivity potential. They include:

1. Tabela Sand (800) - a member of the coated, isohyperthermic family of Typic Quartzipsamments. This very sandy soil has the lowest productive potential in the group. It is easily manipulated mechanically but is severely droughty with a low ion activity. It has a low water and nutrient capacity and leaching and drought stress are major disadvantages.
   
2. The Kasarama loamy sand (8 10) - a member of the loamy, siliceous, isohyperthermic family of arenic paleudults. It is of intermediate production potential. It can be manipulated mechanically under a wide range of moisture conditions. It has a higher nutrient and moisture retaining capacity than the Tabela Sand but less than the Ebini sandy loam. This sod should be given the first preference as a cultural land in the eco- zone for large scale mechanized farming under rain-fed conditions.
   
3. Ebini sandy loam (820) - member of the clayey, kaolinitic, isohyperthermic family of Typic Paleudults. It has the highest productivity potential. This clayey sod however, has a very narrow moisture range for tillage. When dry it is difficult to penetrate with plough and when too wet it clogs equipment.

The soils have an inherent low fertility, a dominance of the trivalent aluminum ion activity in the profile, low organic matter content, low ion activity, low water holding capacity and high erosion potential but all give a good crop response when properly managed. A closely associated soil, - the Tiwiwid Sand (700) should not be used for crop production and should remain undisturbed under its native vegetation. (see soil analysis at Appendix)

Vegetation

The eco-zone is comprised of naturally occurring grassland savannahs, scrub scrum vegetation and forest "islands and reefs" particularly along waterways. The savannah-type vegetation is dominated by the grass Trachypogonplumosus, Axonopus stragulus, Andropogon angustatus, A virgatus, A bicornis and others. Curatelffla anzericana (sandpaper tree) and Byrsoninia crassifolia are the most common trees.

The trees in the standing forest "islands and reefs" vary widely in species. The dominant species in this mixed forest includes Kabukalli, Muri, Burada, Baranzali, Tauraniro, Kokerite, and Ete. Forest types identified in the "forest islands" include Mixed Forest, Mixed Forest on High Hills, Dakama Muri, Mora Forest, Swamp Forest and WaIllaba Forest.

General

At the national level, the government has embarked on a number of projects aimed at improving social services. These include upgrading of the hinterland roads, waterways, ferry services and wharf facilities. A number of privately owned airlines provide services to interior locations. Guyana's telecommunication system has been modernized and currently offers international telephone, Email and Internet services through private service providers.

Infrastructural and social development in the Savannah region, are based on established communities along the Berbice River that were previously engaged in shifting cultivation of the heavily forested riverine lands as well as farming communities extending from De Veldt and Sand Hills in the north to Kwakwani in the south east that were established during the 1970s and 1980s within the Savannahs. There are more than a dozen communities with an estimated total population of 10,000. Within this pool of manpower reside skills in cattle ranching, crop farming, logging and ecotourism activities.

The supporting physical and social infrastructure for these communities comprise essentially:

• The Berbice river which is navigable by barges and ocean going vessels as far as 200 km up river to Kwakwani.
  
• Wharves along which the steamer from the coastal town of New Amsterdam docks weekly to discharge consumer goods and in turn, transport farmers' produce to coastal and export markets.
  
• A network of all-weather roads accessible by four wheel drive vehicles linking the Savannahs with major population centres of Linden and Kwakwani.
  
• Air strips at Ebini, Kimbia, Dubulay and Kwakwani that can accommodate light aircraft including cargo carriers.
  
• Schools, medical centres, churches and other social facilities.
  
• Available timber species that can be extracted from the forested areas and utilized in the construction of buildings, wharves and other farm infrastructure.
  
• Audio communication is currently achieved by means of two-way radio; the area is presently being surveyed for the establishment of telecommunication links with the rest of the country.
  
• A network of creeks, rivers and springs provide the main source of domestic water supply; it has been demonstrated also that good quality irrigation water could be obtained from wells drilled to a depth of approximately 20m.

Research and Development

A national programme is in place for adaptive agricultural research to support agroindustrial development of the Savannahs. The programme is assisted by the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI) functioning within the national agricultural research System in collaboration with the National Agricultural Research Institute (NARI).

Current research in the Savannahs combines the elements of sustainability and maintenance of environmental integrity, and utilizes an information database compiled from research results and successful fanning experiences both within the Savannahs as well as in similar environments in Colombia, Venezuela and Brazil. The database consists of information products which include facts sheets, technical bulletins and reports, seminar proceedings, research papers and production guides. The national programme has also networked extensively with regional and international agricultural research centres and other institutions of excellence, accessing information, germplasm and other technologies of relevance to the Savannah environment.

Thus, the national agricultural research system is capable of executing research and providing developmental support in the areas of ecosystems management, land and water resources management, post harvest technology, marketing, environmental protection, integrated pest management, germplasm selection and evaluation, seed production, plant propagation and integrated crop livestock production systems.