Guyana has joined in the worldwide quest to eradicate hunger, with the commitment of land for the production of food, and has called on other countries to do the same.
During his address at an event to mark World Food Day on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy noted that with increased food production, one must face the challenge of employing biofuels to counteract the effects and depletion of fossil fuels.
Biofuels are used as an alternative to fossil fuels, to cut down on carbon dioxide emissions emanated from the latter. As such, governments and manufacturers around the world are seriously pursuing alternative energy sources.
“If agriculture will now be saddled with the responsibility of producing biofuel, then we must ensure that land for biofuel is not attained by sacrificing land for agriculture,” the minister said.
Ramsammy said Guyana, as much as many other countries around the world, has the ability to produce more food. However, there was need for better arrangements to be implemented to provide access to food, noting that if the correct systems were in place, then no one would be hungry.
Undernutrition
The minister added that despite the provision of food, there is still the challenge of undernutrition that is experienced by both the poor and wealthy. As such, he noted that persons need to pay keen attention to their calorie intake.
Delivering Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) Director General’s message on World Food Day, Country Representative Dr Lystra Fletcher-Paul said the event’s theme “Sustainable food systems for food security and nutrition” presents an invitation for all to consider the progress of the food system, with a view of highlighting inventions to improve it.
“From a rather narrow demand and supply perspective, we can claim that since 1945 the food system has worked remarkably well. The world’s population has tripled in this period and average food availability per person has risen by 40 percent,” Dr Fletcher-Paul said.
Extraordinary achievement
This is seen as an extraordinary achievement and proof of the effectiveness of the market in providing an adequate supply response to the growth and demand of a rising and richer global population.
According to the FAO director general, “the biggest failure is that in spite of the plentiful food supply, the health of more than half of the world’s seven billion population is affected by under or over food consumption”.
It also noted that 840 million humans face daily food shortages, preventing them from working and causing stunted growth and premature death.
The health of another two billion of the world’s population is said to be compromised too by nutrient deficiencies, while some 1.5 billion are obese, thus exposing themselves to the risk of diseases.
As such, Fletcher said, “The market alone does not translate food availability into better nutrition and health productivity”.
National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) Chief Executive Officer Dr Oudho Homenauth highlighted cassava as the commodity Guyana will be placing emphasis on to produce as a staple food.
He said Guyana imports approximately Gy$1 billion in corn, which is a major ingredient in poultry feed.
“A feasibility study that we would’ve done here on the use of cassava as an ingredient in poultry feed… revealed that up to 15 percent cassava flour could be included as an ingredient feed as a substitute for rice or corn,” he disclosed.
