FAO praises Guyana’s investments in agriculture

Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul, Representative of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) in Guyana, has lauded the Guyana government for its sustained investments in agriculture, especially the recently announced Gy$1.5 billion budgetary allocation to facilitate diversification efforts in agriculture.

Speaking at a recent public forum, she noted Guyana has shown that it is serious about agriculture and food production, even at a time when other countries are complacent regarding investments in these key sectors, despite the global food crisis in 2008.

Commending the government for its Gy$1.5 billion budgetary allocation this year, Dr Fletcher-Paul opined: “Clearly, Guyana has not forgotten the lessons of the past, the global food crisis which has resulted in riots and social instability in many countries.” She urged Guyana to think regionally and globally in seeking markets for its food.

She assured that while the FAO has supported Guyana in areas of agriculture, forestry and fishing over the years, the body would continue to do more in the future. The FAO Executive Council, she stated, recently approved the medium- to- long- term work plan for the organisation, which would shortly see more support flowing towards Guyana’s ongoing agricultural drive. Assistance would include programmes to help farmers with basic agricultural inputs.

Last year, some Gy$1.3 billion was spent to expand the non-traditional agricultural sectors in Guyana.

Some of the activities included rehabilitation of seed facility, germplasm laboratory, and library at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). More equipment was also procured for the institute. The New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC) also acquired several refrigerated trucks and containers to boost available supplies of non-traditional crops for the export market.

In addition, under the Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development (READ) programme, over 1,000 farmers were trained in areas such as food processing, feed formulation, and pest and disease control.

This year, the administration plans to accelerate diversification and modernisation of the agriculture sector, as outlined in Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh’s 2011 budget presentation.

Singh disclosed that the government was investing in two financial facilities to provide funding for the benefit of qualified producer groups, in order to facilitate improvements to their farming systems and processing activities. Under READ, the facility would primarily be used for investment purposes, including purchasing small farming and agro processing equipment, land clearing and preparation works, building works, and purchase of breeding animals.

The Agriculture Export Diversification Programme (AEDP) credit facility will target individual farmers, as well as farmers’ associations on a larger scale, through providing requisite infrastructure and equipment in an effort to boost value-added interventions, improve the business climate, encourage private sector involvement, and create competitiveness within this sector.

Further, infrastructural works would continue this year on the construction of a genetic bank at the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA); while rehabilitation of the germplasm laboratory at NAREI, rehabilitation of quarantine stations, rehabilitation of control structures, and construction of access roads at Canals Polder would be done as well.

Field, inspection and laboratory equipment would be purchased, and construction of an abattoir in Region Five is to commence.

On the regulatory front, Dr Singh said, 2011 would see the enactment of new plant, animal and food safety legislation, and regulations for pest and disease control during import and export activities would be upgraded. Further, 7,500 farmers will be trained to be better equipped to contribute to the diversification effort.

“In addition, government will continue efforts to facilitate large-scale agriculture, including in the Intermediate Savannahs, in which a number of investors have already indicated interest,” the finance minister stated.

When realised, these projects would introduce agriculture at a scale previously not seen in Guyana, and make Guyana a significant player in the global market for the products cultivated, Dr Singh believes.