Pact signed for Guyanese women, youths to get training in agriculture

May 05, 2022 News

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Agriculture through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) for a five-year partnership agreement aimed at training youths, women and men who are desirous of practicing sustainable climate resilient agricultural skills.

Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jaganarine Singh and Deputy Director of Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, Munish Persaud signing the new Memorandum of Understanding yesterday. (Ministry of Agriculture photo)

The simple ceremony which took place at the ministry’s Regent Street office saw the attendance of Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer of NAREI, Jaganarine Singh, High Commissioner of Canada to Guyana, Mark Berman, and Deputy Director of Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, Munish Persaud among other invitees.
The five-year initiative, dubbed the Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, aims at promoting climate resilient agriculture for equitable economic growth to increase the economic prosperity of women and youths in more sustainable agricultural markets in the Caribbean.
SAC is a multi-country economic growth project, implemented by the WUSC with CD$20 million funding from the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada (GAC). In his feature remarks, Minister Mustapha expressed his gratitude for an important initiative like this for not only being implemented in Guyana but other parts of the Caribbean. He said “I‘m very glad that we have this project being implemented not only in Guyana but other parts of the Caribbean and I think this will help the Caribbean agriculture sector to move rapidly and not to move in a sustain manner, but to move in a way that would develop and be resilient to climate smart agriculture, and you know for a fact, that now it is important for us to move in that direction because climate change is real for us in this part of the world.”
The Minister also said that as a government they recognize the importance of climate smart agriculture and the importance to develop the young people, especially the youth, women in agriculture. “What need to happen in this part of the world is for young people to get themselves directly involved in agriculture, programs like these will help us to get the interest of young people into the agriculture sector, so this will help us tremendously,” he said.
An initiative like this, the Minister also explained, it will help the country in achieving food security giving the country’s leading role in agriculture in CARICOM.
High Commissioner, Berman told the gathering yesterday that Canada through the SAC project is very pleased to support the Government of Guyana agriculture strategy in 2021 to 2025 and the achievement of the country’s target for food system transformation and resilience. “This transformation process requires farmers and other markets system managers to have the knowledge and skills needed for the introduction of best practices and innovations,” he noted.
According to him, the SAC project focuses on all forms of training and support and skills development for women entrepreneurialship, including mentoring and coaching as an integral part of a lifelong entrepreneurial learning approach.

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