Guyana taking steps to revive coconut industry

Stakeholders recently participated in a discussion to tackle the challenges of the coconut industry as well as lay out their plans to revitalise same with the aim of earning additional revenues.
A formal stakeholder platform meeting was conducted among the various persons and entities who plant and export coconuts, whereby future plans for the industry were discussed.
Regional Coordinator Maurice Wilson highlighted that the project constituted four components – market development, financing and additional funding, niche product development, and production intensification – which will be executed in phases. As the sector develops, other mechanisms will be put in place to expand the horizons of the products.

“We have some positive feedbacks that if we are successful in accessing some additional resources, we could defy some more details later on as we get formal communication from the European Union and CARIFORUM,” Wilson stated.
“We’re anxious to address the matter of financing for all small and medium-scale entities and we’re anxious to address, to some extent, the broader representation of the issues related to risk management and mitigation,” he added.
Wilson further explained that national stakeholder platforms were created from the inception when the project was founded with the aim of coordinating and accelerating the pace of the developmental phase.
However, there will be some modifications as the sector progresses.
“Over time, we understand that there will be some transitioning issues to improve the maturity and effectiveness of the management and coordination of the project.”
Many stakeholders were given a chance to share their views on the way forward for Guyana’s emerging coconut industry and their experiences during production and exportation.
As part of the Coconut Project, Guyana will be assisted, along with 10 other countries who share an interest in coconut production. The project was started in 2013 at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture and is funded by the European Union (EU) and the African Caribbean and Pacific Group of States (ACP).
There are also plans to further establish a formal body by appointing a Coconut Board.