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GMC audit recommends…Total revamp of marketing platform and regional expansion
By Jarryl Bryan
The Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) is mandated to serve as the marketing arm of the Ministry of Agriculture. Specifically, it also coordinates the development and marketing of non- traditional agriculture produce.
GMC’s marketing shop. The auditor has recommended others be established.
However, a forensic audit conducted into the GMC by auditor, Saykar A. Boodhoo, for the period of 2012 to 2015, has highlighted that GMC has not been aggressive enough in marketing local produce for years and because of this, the local agriculture sector has suffered.
One hindrance to the corporation’s expansion, as highlighted by the auditor, involves how it uses and disposes of its properties. The auditor stated that for years GMC, despite owning real estate in various regions of Guyana, has been selling or renting them to various non-related entities.
“GMC owns a property in Strand, New Amsterdam in Region Six and another property in Bartica, Region Seven,” the auditor stated. “Based on discussions with GMC’s General Manager, the property in New Amsterdam has not been in use for over twenty years.”
As for the property in Bartica, the auditor reported that it had been rented to a private businesswoman in 2014. In addition, Boodhoo stated that it has not been used by GMC to offer services in accordance to its mandate “for over twenty years.”
The auditor also highlighted the fact that while Government had embarked on an Agriculture programme “Grow More Food” which gave the corporation a great opportunity to deliver on its mandate, little to no effort from GMC resulted in them dropping the ball on supplying marketing opportunities for local producers.
“While farmers and local producers had responded to the programme, GMC has failed to advance marketing opportunities for local producers,” the auditor observed. “It appears
very little or no structured advertising has been made by GMC to sensitize the Guyanese market to buying local produce.”
Expand
The auditor recommended that the GMC Board take a more active role in ensuring that GMC’s senior management team expands GMC’s services in Region six and Region seven. He also urged that GMC make full use of those properties available to it.
“A proposal needs to be compiled by GMC’s management and approved by the Board,” he recommended. “Financial assistance should be sought from the government to enable GMC
to expand its services in regions six and seven.”
He also advised that the Bartica property be renovated and perhaps be used as another Guyana Shop branch, which can ensure it would serve as a hub for local agriculture products and produce for the hinterland and mining sector in Region Seven. The auditor stated that it can also provide a market for cash crop farmers in that region.
Boodhoo also recommended that GMC use traditional Television and radio, as well as the newer but more accessible social media, to aggressively market the services that it is being funded to perform.
“A directive should be given to GMC’s management to embark on a marketing blitz to sensitize the Guyanese market of the importance of supporting local producers and the nutritional health values of using freshly produced fruits and vegetables,” he said.
Despite being known by the sobriquet ‘bread basket of the Caribbean’, Guyana has one of the highest import bills in the Caribbean for non-traditional agriculture products. During the 2015 budget presentation, Finance Minister Winston Jordan identified several policy changes the Government would make.
To increase exports in non-sugar and non-traditional products by at least 25 percent spanning a five-year period, it follows that production must also be vamped up. Jordan had addressed this imbalance, stating that with Government intervention agro-processed food such as shrimp, fruits and vegetables would receive greater emphasis, with the aim of increasing production by at least 50 percent.
The Minister pointed to some of the crops that will become the face of the diversification initiative in hinterland areas such as corn, soybean, cassava and legumes, in addition to fish and poultry.
In this year’s budget, the agriculture sector got over $20B. In excess of $598M went towards the hinterland agriculture diversification initiative. Jordan had also spoken of a proposal to establish extension facilities in locations such as Ebini, Hosororo, Manari and Bina Hill.
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