Private sector must take up the mantle

Jun 09, 2008 News

– AIF task force chairman

The private sector must be willing to recognize the potential and invest in agricultural projects, as well as take up the mantle since a lot of money is to be made in the industry.
This was one of the prevailing tones by key contributors at the just concluded Agriculture Investment Forum (AIF) at the Guyana International Conference Centre.
One of the main objectives of the forum, as illustrated by the aforementioned functionaries, was the need to encourage the players (financiers/private sector) to meet and explore opportunities available to facilitate a greater level of food security.
Regarding the constraints identified in the ‘Jagdeo Initiative’ that Governments had agreed to work towards removing, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud explained that this has commenced and President Bharrat Jagdeo has acknowledged that more investment must be made by Governments, but the burden must not be left on their shoulders.

Chairman of the AIF task force, James Moss-Solomon, also emphasized, as it relates to the burden of the weight of investment, that, “It was an outdated thinking to put the entire onus on a Government.”
He conceded that Government does have a role to play, such as creating access. “Somebody also has to see a business opportunity and move on it for profit…in the past we had required Governments to carry double and triple burdens…We are now using the framework of the ‘Jagdeo Initiative’ to assign a plan as to who needs to do what.”
He emphasized that it must be realized that this section of the globe was not particularly affluent and Governments alone could not do everything.
“Therefore, cooperation between the public and private sectors, with each doing what they are supposed to do, should be a key objective.”
It was also impressed upon participants that the (food) crisis should be juxtaposed with opportunity.
One such example, as provided by Moss-Solomon, was the island of Montserrat, where there was significant damage as a result of a volcanic eruption.
According to the task force chairman, today, the ash from the volcano is a key contributor to cement production around the world, “the crisis was turned into an opportunity”.
The same notion was vented by President Jagdeo, who said the regional food import bill, “Should not be looked at as six billion dollars of problems; rather, it should be seen as six billion dollars of opportunity.” In illustrating his point, Jagdeo noted that, while in Essequibo recently, he learnt of 5,000 acres of land that was being virtually wasted because of no infrastructure.
According to the head of state, the residents in the community were willing to farm the land and appealed for assistance to have the area equipped with the desirable drainage and irrigation capabilities, noting that they were willing to repay monies used to facilitate the arrangement when they would have been able to earn from the land.
He noted that the Government was, however, unable to provide the money in its budget, hence it would be wise for the private sector to consider investing in projects such as the one he had mentioned.
“Private entities need to go out and be a little innovative and think outside of the box.”
He noted that, for a very long time, food prices were being suppressed, but time has changed. “We need to get more lands cultivated…We have got to make an opportunity out of this global problem.”
He noted that Guyana, because of its land resource, has a prime opportunity to make a lot of money, while opining that the CARICOM food import may soon double.
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, which is tasked with finding markets and matching farmers to these markets.