Promoting and facilitating agro-processing and value-added is the way to go

Oct 02, 2021 Letters

Dear Editor,

With every passing day, we hear our government ministers, more so the Minister of Agriculture promoting agro-processing and value-added. Presentation and longevity of basic agricultural commodities are now taking precedence in the minds of our consumers when deciding on what to buy and from which manufacturer. Stressing on the importance of making products more value-added, the government is definitely on the right track with ensuring the development of Guyana’s agriculture sector is done holistically.
If Guyana is going to realise its full potential as the agriculture powerhouse in this hemisphere, areas like agro-processing and value-added must be discussed and the necessary investments must be made to facilitate this.
Many raw commodities have intrinsic value in their original state, but when transformed, they can be some of the most sought and consumed commodities on the market.
The ‘produce-and-then-sell’ mentality of the commodity business is being replaced by the strategy of first determining what attributes consumers want in their food products and then creating or manufacturing products with those attributes. With the continuous shifting of the global economy, the international market for value-added products continues to grow. Market forces have indeed led to greater opportunities for product differentiation and adding value to raw commodities because of increased consumer demands regarding health, nutrition, convenience, efforts by food processors to improve their productivity, and technological advances that enable producers to produce what consumers desire.
Producers involved with adding value will become more than commodity producers, absorbing all the shocks brought about by global markets in this transitional period of agriculture. They should think of themselves as producing products for end-users, instead of producing only raw commodities.
During the 2021 National Budget exercise, Minister Mustapha had announced plans to retrofit approximately five agro-processing facilities across the country. Plans were also announced to retrofit a packaging facility in Region One. The government, therefore, understands that for change to take place, the accompanying facilities must be made available to its citizens.
Once completed, the agro-processing facilities will enable farmers to transform their products, making them more value-added. The processing facility should also help farmers with the value-added aspect. Making products more appealing to consumers is a basic way of adding value.
I would like to encourage farmers to make full use of the opportunities that lie ahead once these facilities become operable. For the first time, I am excited about where Guyana is heading in terms of agro-processing and agricultural development and diversification.

Yours truly,
Joy Spencer

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Promoting and facilitating agro-processing and value-added is the way to go

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