-as he bemoans parochialism

AS the government seeks to bridge the divide between the hinterland and coastal regions, President David Granger has highlighted that Region Four: Demerara- Mahaica, is well poised to lead the development of all of the nation’s administrative regions.

Speaking at the opening of the Demerara-Mahaica Regional Democratic Council (RDC)’s inaugural Regional, Agricultural and Commercial Exhibition (RACE), hosted at the Lusignan Community Centre ground, the President highlighted that despite being the smallest region, Demerara-Mahaica is well experienced in many facets of development.

As a result of this, the head of state related, “It is my view that Demerara-Mahaica shows the way. Demerara-Mahaica can lead the way, Demerara-Mahaica can instruct regions in cooperation, in transportation, in communication, not only by growing and showing, but also by implanting its technologies in all of the other regions.”

But he lamented that the five largest regions in Guyana happen to be the five poorest regions — and five hinterland regions. Thus, instead of focusing on the development of Region Four in isolation, he stressed that there must be deviation from parochialism and focus instead on building the capacity of the other regions.

There is much more potential to the hinterland regions than just gold-mining and logging, since there is an immense economic potential for agriculture and energy generation, according to the President and these exhibitions provide a unique opportunity to create equal standards between the coastal and hinterland regions. “With this economic vitality and with this economic diversity, we are confident that the holding of these regional agricultural exhibitions, every year in every region, can help to augment production,” he affirmed and added that the “gap” between the hinterland and coast would be bridged.

Weighing in also was Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder, who highlighted just how meaningfully Region Four contributes to the national agricultural output but levelled this by reminding that many agricultural agencies and support services are located here. Like the President, the agriculture minister identified these exhibitions as means for farmers and businesses to not only market themselves and their products, but to engage in capacity-building and learning better agricultural practices to augment production.

While he sought to underscore the government’s efforts in fostering such activities and generally promoting agriculture, he explained that Guyana remains vulnerable to stark expenses through its food- import bill which was pegged at $261M in 2016. This was a daunting revelation but Minister of Business, Dominic Gaskin, highlighted that Guyanese could aid in reducing this by simply supporting the local agricultural sector.

“Farmers need a lot of support and the public needs to consume food that we produce in Guyana,” Gaskin said but also acknowledged that better must be done with regard to value-added products. Processing and manufacturing are activities the minister stressed should be done right in Guyana, not only to satisfy locals but to also penetrate foreign markets.

Regional Chairman, Genevieve Allen, in giving an overview of the RACE detailed that the event was designed specifically to improve the entire agricultural process “from the farm to your table,” but highlighted that this could only be achieved if farmers delved away from traditional practices. She highlighted the increasing role modern technology plays in agriculture and everyday activities and the region’s farmers must also be cognisant of this. In keeping with this, the RDC in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Telecommunications (MoPT) will be launching the ‘Farmer’s’ App’ created during the ministry’s CODESPRINT competition held earlier this year.

In essence, this seeks to connect farmers and consumers. This exhibition continues today and will culminate tomorrow. Similar exhibitions were launched in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two), Mahaica-Berbice (Region Five), Upper Demerara-Upper Berbice (Region 10) and in Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo (Region Nine).