UK launches Gy$ 409M agri project

The Agriculture Ministry has collaborated with the Department for International Development (DFID) to launch the Guyana

Agricultural Diversification Project (GADP) as it seeks to ramp up production of non-traditional and aquaculture produce for export.

The diversification project was launched on Tuesday at the Satyadeo Sawh Aquaculture Station at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

The aim of the initiative, according DFID Deputy Head Matt Butler, is to create over 1000 jobs for locals and increase tilapia exports from 1000 kilogrammes to 12000 kilogrammes per week and non-traditional crops from 1000 kilogrammes to 16000 kilogrammes per week.

Funding

DFID will be providing £ 1.3 million to support the local project. However, there is an overall UK bilateral assistance to the Caribbean to the tune of £ 75 million between 2011 and 2015.

He said the £ 75 million project is split into three categories. “One is governance and security, one is disaster risk reduction and climate change and one which this project sits under, that’s job creation.”

Butler pointed out that the approach being used will see Gy$ 4 billion being paid out based on results achieved from indicators that have been set out.

“This is a very new type of working for us where payment by results will guarantee value for money,” he said.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, delivering the feature address at the launching ceremony, said the availability of markets is what drives production.

However, this means that Guyana has to build certain capacities such as sanitary and phytosanitary requirements so that local produce can be marketable on the international stage.

The minister said Guyana also has to consider how in this environment, farmers can produce at a cost that still allows them to be competitive. “The Ministry of Agriculture has mandated the Fisheries Department, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the Guyana School of Agriculture and the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, to work together and I’m inviting CARANA as part of the DFID project to join us in the research to develop a locally produced feed that will allow our producers to be competitive at the market,” he pointed out.

British High Commissioner to Guyana Andrew Ayre believes the programme will help Guyanese exporters to maximise their potential to tap into markets in the Caribbean, North America and Europe.

New investment

He also highlighted that DFID will provide up to US$ 2 million in support for new investment in non-traditional agriculture and aquaculture, which will be disbursed in relation to the size of the area under cultivation.