LAST month, Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan, addressing a private sector forum communicated Government’s intention to clamp down on excessive and unnecessary imports. Guyana and the other countries in the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) continue to spend billions of U.S. dollars each year on items that can be produced within the Region. Such practices debilitate the development of countries by making them dependent on external forces for their survival, security, and well-being. For instance, CARICOM’s food-import bill is pegged at more than US$4B per year. Recognition by successive governments that Guyana is capable of producing and selling many of the items imported is still to reach beyond thought, though there were previous efforts to move in such direction.

Suffice to say that in our polarised politics, which can also be unforgiving, the most ambitious and worthwhile efforts for development could be met with ridicule, resistance, allegations of backwardness and targeting of groups for discrimination. It is said that the past is prologue and experiences that influenced the loss of previous opportunities — economic and otherwise to individuals, businesses and country — should be learnt from and avoided.

Guyana is rich in agricultural prospects and the desire to be the Caribbean’s food basket, though ambitious, remains doable. There was also once a progressive, though fledgling, manufacturing sector and was it allowed to be nurtured, the country would have experienced its niche market in the Region and farther afield. The wisdom of the government to pursue self-sufficiency, though it cannot be faulted, given the economic and security benefits, at the same time government cannot ignore the importance of management of the process to achieve the objective.

Experience has shown in our environment that it matters not that the PPP/C Government under Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud revitalised the Forbes Burnham Government’s “Grow More Food Programme,” judging by the blog-sphere, social media and man in the street, it is already being peddled similar attention by this government is driven by poor management of the economy and a desire to starve the people. This propaganda cannot be ignored, more so that it is past time Guyana achieved a higher degree of development, a pursuit that must not be torpedoed.

Studies have shown that there are new trends in consumers’ preference and products, primarily in the food and beauty-supply industries. The shift to healthy lifestyle choices has seen increasing demands for natural products. A progressive country and people would seek to rise to the occasion not only to capitalise on such benefits through importation, but also as producers and providers.  Impressing on the society the importance of looking at the issue through such lens, not only will facilitate constructive public discourse, but should also be accompanied by developing policies, programmes, and laws to meet the challenges.

Government may find it feasible and gratifying through engagement with communities and interest groups to facilitate and encourage the emergence of ideas as to what can be the role of respective stakeholders. For instance, Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder, recently addressed the issue of a modern milk-processing plant. It may be necessary in realising this project to pursue engagement of a national programme for the production of milk involving farmers across the country. Programmes of such nature most likely may require financing to enhance the economy in villages, supported by other concomitant incentives.
It is also important to recognise efforts to improve self-sufficiency and management of our foreign currency/reserves can be of interest to external forces who will seek to undermine such efforts. It is not uncommon in the competitive global economy to see countries subsidise their farmers and manufacturers in order to have competitive advantages, even as they discourage similar practices for other countries. Previous experience has shown that small-state economies have also seen condemnation of their products trying to enter the markets — local and foreign.

These foregoing factors cannot be ignored, given that don’t matter what is produced, its benefits and quality, where propaganda holds sway it is unworthy the project will suffer. This brings attention to recent recognition by Prime Minister Moses Nagamootoo, in addressing the Broadcasting Bill, making reference to the indigenous concept of Development Support Communication as part of Government’s Public Service Programme. Communication is essential in bringing the society along on ideas generated and flowing therefrom and it should be noted that for it be effective, it has to be a two-way street, that is, involvement of the masses and policy-makers in the processs, from conceptualisation to consumption/use of the product.