Agriculture is perhaps man’s most important endeavour, because of the simple fact that it is the process by which food, one of the necessities of life, is produced. And therefore it has been in existence from the early days that mankind set foot on this planet.

From its primitive forms, agricultural production has grown leaps and bounds during the industrial age through the application of science and technology as the world strives to provide adequate supplies of food to its growing population.

Some countries are blessed with ideal conditions and resources for agricultural production, while unfortunately others are not and as such there is a dependency by the latter on the former for food supplies.

Guyana happens to be foremost among those countries which possess the ideal conditions for agricultural production, and so it has evolved as a major agricultural country in the Caribbean and with massive potential for expansion and diversification to rank along side other major agricultural producers on the South American continent.

Had it not been for that nearly three-decade dark period in our country’s history when the agriculture sector was terribly mismanaged and down played, we would have already been among the largest agricultural producers countries in South America.

Historically, agriculture has formed the backbone of the national economy and will remain so for a long time as today it accounts for 34% of GDP.

If agricultural production had continued at the rate at which it was growing in the late 1950s and early 1960s then it was almost certain we would have been there. A few examples will show this – rice production between 1957 and 1964 grew by 74% and milk production increased steeply necessitating the establishment of our first milk pasteurisation plant in Kingston. In fact, agricultural output was so massive that one political party, which incidentally brought so much destruction and suffering to this country during its 28-year reign in power, promised free milk and cassava to the Guyanese people in its 1964 election manifesto. Unfortunately, when it took power the entire foundation of the agriculture sector collapsed and one of the victims was the Kingston Pasteurisation Plant which many do not remember or choose not to remember.

Nevertheless, over the last decade or so our agriculture sector has recovered from the doldrums and has made impressive strides in all the sub-sectors. Of special note is the fact that we have moved from a poultry importing country to one of self-sufficiency in this area and is on the verge of becoming an exporter of poultry products.

According to Agriculture, Minister Robert Persaud, the situation for the first quarter of this year with respect to agricultural exports in the various sub-sectors have been generally stable while in some instances there have been significant increases.

He said 45,000 tonnes of rice went out during that time, slightly doubling the amount sold overseas for the corresponding period last year. While earnings from the grain for the three months in 2009 were about US$25M, more than three times the US$7.3M earned the previous year.

In the area of non-traditional crops, the minister said close to 2.5 million kilogrammes of fresh fruits and vegetables were exported in the first quarter of 2009, compared to the 1.8 million kilogrammes in 2008.

However, he said, although the value this year was lower than that of last year, Guyana still received G$329M, $4M more than obtained in 2008.

Forestry exports receipts dropped from US$12M for the first quarter of last year to US $8M this year.

He said, strangely, his Ministry has been confronted with a situation where production in that sector increased by some 25 per cent yet exports declined.

So it can be seen clearly that while there are several challenges and obstacles to be overcome in this sector the above figures give an encouraging picture and provide great optimism for the future of this vital sector of the national economy.

Of course the success of the agriculture is a result of the increasing attention and resources being given to the sector by this administration as well as the commitment and selfless dedication of our farmers who are making unenviable sacrifices to ensure that agriculture and the national economy continue to advance to higher grounds.