UG launches Food and Nutrition Institute

Oct 26, 2018 News

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder

By Kemol King
The University of Guyana, in collaboration with the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations, officially launched the Institute for Food and Nutrition Security (IFANS) with a symposium yesterday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
The Institute, while serving as an education and research centre for students pursuing studies in like fields, is part of efforts to facilitate a national system of food and nutrition security, and a broader mechanism required by CARICOM, to establish a comprehensive food safety mechanism in the Caribbean, according to Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder.
Minister Holder said that Guyana must capitalize on modern mechanisms to revolutionise its food production, such as the use of transgenic crops, gene editing, fish farming and efficient methods of agricultural production.
Holder said that the goal of the government is to be able to provide clean, green food for Guyana and for the rest of the Caribbean, so that the region’s food needs would be less dependent on interregional exports. He expects the Institute, along with the implications of the food and Security Bill of 2016, to organize Guyana’s fragmented food safety system.
Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation at the United Nations, Reuben Robertson, explained that the institute will be able to provide more useful and purposeful information on the state of food and nutrition in Guyana.
IFANS’ work will be governed by an advisory board drawn from the following agencies: University of Guyana, National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI). Government Analyst Department, Community of Latin American and Caribbean States, Research Agencies, members of the Private Sector, Civil Society and Non-Governmental Organisations, Caribbean Community (CARICOM), Government ministries and agencies with legislative authority that directly and indirectly impact food and nutrition security, and the international donor community.

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