Chinese willing
From right: Mayor of Linden,
Carwyn Holland; Chinese
Ambassador Cui Jiancho and his
wife; Regional Chairman, Renis
Morian,and Economic and
Commercial Counsellor,
SHEN Huiyong
From right: Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland; Chinese Ambassador Cui Jiancho and his wife; Regional Chairman, Renis Morian,and Economic and Commercial Counsellor, SHEN Huiyong

…agro processing, rail road, youth development

IN AN EFFORT to bring relief to the ailing food security and agricultural sector in Region 10, Chinese Ambassador, His Excellency Cui Jiancho, has put the idea forward of having the Chinese Government establish an agro processing factory in the region. The project modules for this he said can be completed by the first half of the year.

He put forward this solution on Friday to Regional Chairman, Renis Morian, Mayor of Linden, Carwyn Holland, and other regional officials during an official visit aimed at strengthening bilateral relations between the two parties.
His Excellency Cui Jiancho visited Linden with a Chinese delegation including his wife and Economic and Commercial Counsellor, Shen Huiyong. The regional officials put forth to the Ambassador several areas in need of assistance with agriculture and food security being prioritised.

Regional Chairman, Renis Morian, posited that in the context of disaster risk management,the sector was lacking terribly and the region was in dire need of assistance. “In the area of agriculture we want to move from just planting. We want to look at agro processing. We have the land, we have the waterways and the airstrip to do this,” Morian outlined.
This was reiterated by Former Regional Chairman, Mortimor Mingo, who alluded to the food crises that struck Region 10 during the 2005 coastal flood. Since most of the region’s food supply comes from the coastland, the region was terribly affected and the same will reoccur in the eventuality of another disaster since the region continues to be heavily dependent on food from other regions.

It is in this regard that the officials reached out to the Chinese Embassy for cooperation and collaboration. “In Region 10 itself we have the capacity to feed ourselves once we have the kind of assistance to use the lands available under effective production, we do have a number of farming groups in the region and it is on behalf of these groups that we are seeking assistance,” Mingo mentioned.
His Excellency Cui Jiancho, revealed that China too was experiencing food security issues and he was willing to share the techniques his country was using to alleviate the problem and to lend whatever assistance was needed to have these techniques utilized. “We can pool our ideas together to assist in agro processing not only to the local community,” he said.

Mayor of Linden Carwyn Holland requested assistance for a complete digital mapping in Region 10 which he believes can assist in the development of the agriculture sector. “This would give you a better view of areas that you can tap into, you would be able to better track and know what is going on,” he affirmed. Holland also spoke of having a rail road service along the Linden to Lethem road which will even be more beneficial for Region 10’s development since it will also provide jobs for thousands of persons.
The Chinese Officials also mulled assisting the region with youth development as it relates to providing up to 10 scholarships per year for students to study in China and also in assisting with transportation for students experiencing difficulty travelling from Linden to Georgetown daily to attend the University of Guyana and other institutions.

To aid in Linden’s general development, His Excellency Cui Jiancho, affirmed that there was need for investment in the town to see it move forward. He alluded to the imminent construction of the first phase of the Linden to Lethem road and the rebuilding of the new airport at Timehri which he believes will aid Linden tremendously especially in the area of tourism. “I think it is a very important policy if you want to develop this region for you to attract more foreign investment. We could see more Chinese investment being here,” the Ambassador said.

The Chinese Embassy also positively responded to support in building a constabulary, dredging of the river’s channel, assisting in the area of ICT and support for sports development. His Excellency Cui Jiancho also donated a photocopy machine to the Linden Mayor and Town Council.

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