Berbice holds the key to national development

Oct 20, 2016 Letters

Dear Editor;
It has been a long time since any type of sustainable economic development has been done in Region 6 and it has been on the agenda of every visiting President and Minister of Government but what seems to be lacking is the apparent reason that no plan was forthcoming from the Region itself. That void has now been filled after President Granger threw the gauntlet to the Region to become involved in its economic stimulation and revival.
Indeed Berbice is a ‘sleeping giant’, according to President Granger, with enormous potential to be the economic stimulus and it is most remarkable that the Prime Minister’s Representative in Region 6, Mr Gobin Harbhajan, along with a few development-conscious persons, have taken the initiative to put forward a proposal to build an all-weather road through #58/59 Villages to Canje Creek and beyond.
We need to understand that regardless of our enormous oil wealth, agriculture will remain the bedrock of our economy since we need to be self-sufficient in food production and as Prime Minister Nagamootoo has pointed out it is possible to be oil rich and yet be a starving nation and he gave us Venezuela as a prime example. We are extremely blessed as a nation for we are given both oil resources and suitable lands for agriculture among a whole lot of natural resources and it is therefore our duty to exploit all of these to the benefit out this generation and the future one. Region 6 is a prime example of economic neglect.
This all-weather road is capable of exploiting more than 90,000 acres of arable lands which are suitable for rice cultivation, cattle farming, citrus, provisions, vegetables, coconuts cultivation, and aquaculture. Then beyond the Canje Creek there are more than 100,000 acres of arable lands which can be exploited to attain huge economic benefits. The establishment of industrial sites will make way for agro-processing plants to be established to widen the markets for the produce. Moreso, the residents of Baracara will benefit enormously from such a road making it possible for this village to greatly expand its borders and get immediate access to markets for their produce. It is possible for eco-tourism sites to be established which can boost our fledgling tourism industry.
At the moment the deteriorating mud dam has made it impossible even for the current cattle and rice farmers to expand their production. In fact cattle and rice production have been dwindling due to the impassable nature of the road. It must be noted that reducing the distance between people, markets and services or simply getting a good road network is a great part of economic development and is vital for our economic survival. There is a strong correlation between a country’s economic development and the quality of its road network.
This project is a master plan which can unlock some of the potentials of Region 6 and can provide us with the economic jump-start which we so badly need and I sincerely hope that this project is given the blessings it deserves from the Government, the Opposition, the Regional Administration, and all the relevant organisations.
Rohit Persaud

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