Agri forum attract mixed results

Jun 08, 2008 News

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…should be looked at as a beginning and not an end – Persaud

A lot more could have been done in preparation for the Agricultural Investment Forum (AIF), given that many of the proposals presented for consideration were not considered to be viable.
This was coupled with the fact that a lot of the proposals were for small projects, said Patrick Williams of the Caribbean Invest Fund (CIF), who formed part of the task force that prepared the AIF.
He said, however, that the mandate of the task force was not to teach how to prepare proposals and access loans. “It would have been a good idea.”
According to some representatives of the banking institutions, several of the proposals outlined illustrated the fact that persons or organisations preparing the project proposals were simply not aware of mechanisms by which they could have accessed loans; and further, how much they could have accessed.
During the course of the forum yesterday, the participants broke up into cluster groups, and in their reports to the forum, it was again illustrated that many of the participants lacked the necessary information to fully access loans from the relevant financial institutions, as well as prepare proper project proposals, necessary for the loans.  This, according to a source in a high-level banking institution, clearly reflected a need to make persons aware of what they have access to.
“Clearly, we need to look at making the potential aware of what sort of assistance could be made available.”
Williams also supported this notion that the knowledge of accessibility to loans was not in the investor’s domain.  An example of this is the fact that only 16 proposals were considered viable to be placed at the forum. Of these, only two were from Guyana. It was later reported that a total of 25 proposals were submitted
He noted, too, that the viability of the project, which was identified as a key constraint, has to be addressed, given that most of the current non-performing loans were in agriculture.
“There is a track record and a stigma that has to be overcome…Loans are not grants.”
Faced with the notion that there should have or could have been some more preparatory work, given the uniqueness of the forum, financiers were interacting with potential investors/entrepreneurs, and Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said that that was the main objective of the forum. According to Persaud, the idea of the forum was to educate people as to the opportunities which were described in specific and general terms.
“It was intended to start a process…it was not intended only about tabling proposals, and letting people know what are the real opportunities for investments in agriculture in the region.”
He acknowledged that bankers did in fact require a lot of information before approving the monies necessary. That information could be supplied at a point in future.  “This is a process that will continue…It was generally aimed at bringing all the components of the private sector together and to let them know what the opportunities that exist in different countries are.”
He said that the forum should not be seen as an inadequacy in terms of proposals. “This forum should not be seen as an end to the process; rather, it should be seen as a beginning.”  Persaud reiterated the success of the forum, noting that it should not be expected that any deals would have been signed at the forum. Rather, it was to convince people of positive investment opportunities.
“It is to change the mindset of the private sector, and to let them know that there is money to be made in investing in agriculture in the region.”
Persaud optimistically posited that this forum would be the start of an investment boom in agriculture, now that people know of the opportunities.  He noted that the success of the programme has to be against the backdrop of the objectives of the forum which, was to bring the private sector and to present a case for private sector investment in agriculture…once the case is made, then the works start after.
Earlier in the year, President Bharrat Jagdeo had noted that the regional food import should not be seen as a crisis, rather, it should be seen as an opportunity to invest. Recently, in an attempt to alleviate the rising cost of food prices, the Government through the Ministry of Agriculture launched a ‘Grow More Campaign.”
At the Charity NDC Office, where the campaign was launched, the minister told the gathering that there was an increased demand for agricultural products from Guyana.
Persaud is on record as saying that, unlike similar campaigns, this one will be market driven and managed by the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), which is tasked with finding markets and matching farmers to these markets.

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