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Human Services Minister commits support to Mangrove Reserve Producers
Minister of Human Services, Jennifer Webster, has reiterated Government’s support for the East Coast Mangrove Reserve Women Producers (MRWP) who market their agricultural products through the Mangrove Centre at Cove and John.
Speaking at the opening of a workshop to create a business plan for the group, Webster noted that the wide cross-section of society was represented by the participants who came from Buxton to Berbice and who generate agricultural products in the mangrove-forested coastal communities.
Minister Webster with mangrove producers
The development of a business plan for the MRWP is being sponsored by Digicel.
The telecommunication company had earlier provided support for this alternative livelihood initiative by underwriting the cost of the introductory Farmers’ Market in October 2011. A consequence of that event was the birth of the Mangrove Reserve Women Producers group two months later.
The MRWP’s products are on sale at the Mangrove Centre at Cove and John. The centre is housed in the Women Leadership Institute. This component is part of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project (GMRP) which is being funded by the European Union and the Government of Guyana.
Since its opening in July 2011, more than 4,500 students have visited the Centre; it draws over 200 visitors per month for the three-hour tour of the Mangrove Reserve seawall site.
Webster noted that in addition to promoting mangrove conservation, the mangrove producers’ initiative was also building bridges between communities.
An example of this is the Litchfield Group, which already possesses a processing facility, deciding to twin with the Trafalgar Union Group which has a 25-acre farm which could produce the relevant crops for the various agro-products.
The Minister lauded the achievements of the agro-producers on their varied line of products and commended them for winning the Caribbean Tourism Organization’s prestigious Biodiversity Conservation Award for 2012.
The space occupied by the visitor centre was made possible initially through the support of the Ministry of Social Services, under the former Minister, Priya Manickchand. That saw the provision of the Cove and John site during the early stage of the Guyana Mangrove Restoration Project.
In her remarks at the workshop, Webster signaled her continued support and further committed to having the women producers displaying their products at public events being staged by her Ministry.
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