Guyana avails itself to CARICOM for agricultural development

May 23, 2008 News

Guyana has offered its rich agricultural resources to CARICOM in the pursuit of food production and Jamaica is taking up the offer by seeking Guyana’s expertise in the growing of rice in Jamaica.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Twenty-Seventh Special Meeting of the Council for Trade and Economic Development (COTED) on Agriculture and Food Security at the Le Meridien, Pegasus, on Monday, Jamaican Minister of Agriculture, Dr Christopher Tufton, said that soaring commodity prices have now forced many governments to rethink their agricultural strategy.

Production plans, which were shelved when food was ‘cheap’, he noted, are now being ‘dusted off’ as the dynamics have shifted to cause such things as the growing of rice, corn, soya and sorghum to become once again feasible.

Similarly, in Jamaica, Dr. Tufton said, they are seeking to restore the Dairy Industry, which is not only a critical source of protein, but also the sad victim of misguided liberalisation policies in the past.
“As we strive to restore production capacity, regional cooperation is going to be important. Therefore, we want to collaborate with Guyana for expertise in the growing of rice in Jamaica. In those areas where we possess the skills and competencies, such as fruit tree crops, growing of vegetable and poultry production, we are also willing to collaborate,” Dr. Tufton added.
There is no doubt that some of these production initiatives will require significant capital outlay, he said.
Similar capital is required to install critical infrastructure relating to food health and safety, research, irrigation, he said.
Within this context, he added, the region welcomes the donors meeting, which was convened last year, and look forward to the investment forum planned for next month.
Meanwhile, Guyana’s Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud, in offering the country’s agricultural resources stated that with President Bharrat Jagdeo as CARICOM’s Lead Head of Government with responsibility for agriculture has committed to taking a leadership role in the regional response to the food crisis.
“Our economy is primarily agriculture-based. We have an abundance of arable land and vast reserves of water resources.”
He encouraged the Agriculture Ministers at the meeting to join Guyana in the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign.
“We have also launched a Grow More Food campaign not only to ensure adequate food for our own people, but to be able to assist in meeting the food needs of the entire region,” Persaud said.
Persaud also stated that Guyana is happy to be collaborating with various stakeholders on the upcoming Agriculture Investment Forum scheduled to be held in Georgetown within the next two weeks.
“Investment, particularly private sector investment, in the agriculture sector in recent years has been sadly lacking with many countries in the region preferring to focus on services.”
With agriculture becoming a more profitable enterprise and with the changing global reality, the region hopes to attract serious investors, who will enable the achievement of the vision for agriculture in the Caribbean.
Even before the present food price spike, President Jagdeo had pointed out that ‘a renewed and competitive agriculture sector will not only earn money for this region, but also provide the critical food security that we need’.
This need has not changed, Persaud said, but rather it has intensified over recent months.
“The people of the region must know that we are serious about our commitment to fast track the regional drive for realizing our agricultural potential and become food self sufficient.”
This special meeting on Agriculture and Food Security is a precursor to the Agriculture Investment Forum to be held in June.
Meanwhile, yesterday the Ministry of Agriculture in a brief statement said in the wake of media enquiries it wishes to state that the comments made by Minister Persaud at the COTED opening ceremony should not be interpreted as a lack of recognition of the work of the CARICOM Secretariat staffers.
The Minister’s comment, the statement said, was intended to highlight a concern about the lack of movement on the establishment of an expert CARICOM Team on Sanitary Phyto-Sanitary measures.
On Monday, Persaud lashed out at the CARICOM Secretariat, noting that it is time the Secretariat reviews how it coordinates with its lead agencies on agricultural development in order to enhance accountability.
Persaud said that several proposals were agreed upon by the CARICOM Heads of Government during the 12th special meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community in December of 2007 but six months later, many of those measures are yet to be implemented.
These measures, he said, were meant to be instituted immediately to cushion the impact of rising food prices.
The statement issued yesterday added that the Ministry acknowledges the hard work and effort of the secretariat’s staff as the region seeks to deal with the new and emerging challenges and opportunities for the Agriculture sector and Food Security and Food Sovereignty for its people.