THE Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) has reported that the characteristics of Family Farming (FF) in Guyana are sufficiently strong to stimulate interest in pursuing this segment of the agricultural sector as an integral part of the national agricultural development framework.

This position was disclosed as a key finding of a study entitled Characterization of Family Farms in the Caribbean: A Study of Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines done by IICA in 2017.
The occasion of the disclosure was a workshop hosted by the Institute at Regency Suites /Hotel Thursday last in support of the ongoing global effort to raise the profile of and support for family farming.

The workshop also served as a platform and opportunity for personnel involved in the conduct and leadership of Guyana’s agriculture, to validate the IICA study and suggest ways forward in obtaining the kind of data on Family Farming locally which can inform decision makers on policy responses and development interventions.

In its preamble the report stated: “This initiative in family agriculture is one of IICA’s Flagship Projects. It is hoped that the information supplied would bear fruit in new policy perspectives for family farming in the region.”

Participants at the workshop included representatives from the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) Guyana; Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), National Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Partners of the Americas (Guyana Chapter), the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) and the University of Guyana among others.

In a feature address Minister of Agriculture Hon. Noel Holder told the participants  that his Ministry recognizes the significant number of  family farmers within the local agriculture sector and has through its agencies been supporting them through technical advice, introduction of appropriate technologies, improving access to water and markets and strengthening  their small holder associations and cooperatives.

He said that the workshop was timely since it supported the development policies conducive to sustainable FF, such as increased knowledge and public awareness and permitting stakeholders to better understand family farming needs, potentials and constraints while creating synergies for sustainability.

He opined that the bottom line for this segment of the agriculture sector is whether it exhibits sufficiently distinct characteristics which are likely to offer greater positive impact on employment, poverty, malnutrition and other agricultural development objectives.
He said: “I hope this bottom line issue is brought to the forefront and widely discussed with consensus from all participants.”

IICA’s local representative in Guyana Mr. Wilmot Garnett said that use of a validated IICA document on FF in the Caribbean will promote a new generation of differentiated public policies for family farms, including actions to promote innovation; to strengthen the links between small-scale and family farmers and agricultural chains, as well as the participation of women and youth in agriculture and succession planning for future generations.

He expressed hope that all stakeholders  find the study useful in supporting viable ideas for interventions towards strengthening the capacity of Family Farming to enhance entrepreneurial operations and its contributions to national agricultural development.