Latest update February 8th, 2025 6:23 PM
Latest News
- Soaring gold price entices Canadian company to renew permits in Guyana
- Terrence Campbell accuses Govt. of weaponizing Police Force after calls for accountability with oil revenues
- China slams US as Panama quits Belt and Road Initiative
- Guyana extradites fugitive to Canada
- AFC Leader Nigel Hughes welcomes any investigation into lands he acquired
Local agro-processors need help with packaging and labeling – IICA official
By Keeran Danny
Packaging and labeling, sometimes the major attractions for a product, remain a challenge for local agro-processors, who have to “compete” with similar products produced overseas that are on the local shelves.
IICA’s Dr. Maxine Parris-Aaron
This is according to Dr. Maxine Parris-Aaron, Agricultural Health and Food Safety Specialist of Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), during an interview with this publication, whilst at a workshop for agro-processors in Region Nine.
The workshop commenced on August 12 and ends today. It is part of a series of workshops funded by IICA and partnered by Volunteer Services Overseas and the Food and Drug Analyst Department to train agro-processors in record keeping, micro-enterprise development, and food handling certificates.
According to Dr. Parris-Aaron, IICA’s Network for Rural Women has three groups in the Rupununi-Aranaputa, Helping Hand and Wowetta. However, for this training session other communities including Shulinab and Tarikwarwanau were targeted. About 40 agro-processors benefited from one or more aspects of the training.
She said the intervention was timely and, at the end of each sub-unit, an assessment is conducted to get an idea as to how responsive the participants were to the training. The training is expected to be replicated in other areas.
According to Dr. Parris-Aaron, agro-processors in these communities are involved in the production of different products such as peanut butter, cassava bread, cashew nuts, and farine. Dr. Parris-Aaron, who had previously visited some of the agro-processing facilities enlightened that they need upgrading, but that is not the only challenge since “all agro-processors need help with packaging and labeling”.
She believes continuous training providing relevant material of what is happening regionally and internationally of agro-processors in far-flung communities could improve their standards and products. The main aim is to move their products out of hinterland communities and into lucrative markets.
However, many local products, for example the Aranaputa peanut butter is unable to compete on the market with popular overseas brands of peanut butter that have been on local shelves for years. She opined that Aranaputa peanut butter may be costly in comparison to an overseas brand, but it tastes better and has a high nutritional content.
According to the specialist, products like the Aranputa peanut butter once on the market could be competitive once Guyanese decide to buy local. For instance, in Jamaica, there are overseas products on the local market but Jamaicans support their own.
Similar Articles
THE BLUNT OF THE DAY
Sports
Features/Columnists
Due diligence on investments must become a priority
Peeping Tom… Kaieteur News- In 1985, the Forbes Burnham government looking for economic salvation, entered into a memorandum... more
OAS Secretary General Election and renewed OAS Consensus
Antiguan Barbudan Ambassador to the United States, Sir Ronald Sanders By Sir Ronald Sanders Kaieteur News- The upcoming election... more
Weekend Cartoon
