MINISTER of Agriculture Dr Leslie Ramsammy recently led a ministerial mission from Guyana during a tour of the highly successful Ontario dairy industry in Canada.

The Guyana delegation, during the tour, focused primarily on leveraging Ontario’s significant knowledge and experience in the dairy industry. Guyana is preparing to establish a local dairy plant operation that will supply Guyana’s dairy needs in part.

The mission was organised by the High Commission of Canada and led by Canadian Trade Commissioner Nicole Johnson. The Guyana delegation includes a consortium of Government, regional agencies and private sector leaders all of whom are critical players in the development of a dairy production facility in Guyana.

Minister Ramsammy and team were welcomed by Ontario dairy leaders, many of whom had met with the Guyanese Agriculture Minister on the margins of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture in October 2013.

Among the places that Dr Ramsammy and his team visited in Canada are Grasshill Dairy Farms; Summitholm farm; Caledon Jersey; Kawartha dairy; Mariposa dairy; Maryland Farms; Eastgen and Via Pax ET Led. The team was received by His Lordship Brian Junking who is the Mayor (ag.) for Kawartha Lakes Ontario and Senior Advisor for the Ministry of Rural Affairs Mr. Rick Johnson.
The Guyana Delegation was hosted by the Ontario Ministry for Agriculture Farm and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) and Kawartha Lakes Economic Development office. The high level delegation was exposed to the full range of Canadian technologies including: genetics; dairy cattle trace ability; precision dairy management; feed and forage and varying dairy farm operations. These technologies will be instrumental as Guyana establishes a large scale dairy operation.

A statement from the High Commission of Canada quoted Minister Ramsammy as saying that Guyana would be interested in exploring collaborative integration and exchange programmes with Canadian educational institutions and farm operations.
Canadian dairy operators responded to Minister Ramsammy’s call and offered GLDA and Guyanese dairy producers the opportunity to participate in exchange programmes to observe and learn from the Ontario dairy industry experience.

Ontario dairy industry operations feature best in class operations. There are over 4000 dairy farm operations in rural Ontario that boasts both environmentally sustainable techniques and precision management technologies for improved efficiency.

During the visit, Minister Ramsammy took the opportunity to meet with members of the Ontario dairy community, regulatory associations and the University of Trent. Discussions were held on broadening technical exchange and educational

programmes between Ontario and Canada. The Guyana delegation also included top brass of the Guyana Livestock Development Agency Dr. Dindyal Permaul; Dr. Dwight Waldron, head of IICA Guyana; Mr. Wilmot Garnett, Guyana’s Private Sector dairy leader; and Sterling Products Quality Assurance Manager Mr. Anthony Ross.
Canadian private sector company Amanitas Group that is currently partnered with Guyanese company D&S Construction, joined the mission as the company explores opportunities for investment in Guyana. Minister Ramsammy and the Guyana delegation also met with Canadian education leads including Dr. Arnold Doobay and Professor Suresh Narine. Discussions were held to explore the opportunities for skills transfer, vertical integration and to leverage the expertise of diverse stakeholders towards the development of a viable Guyanese dairy plant facility.

Minister Ramsammy noted that Guyana could learn much from the Ontario dairy experience as the country prepares to reduce its dependence on dairy imports. In discussing Guyana’s need to set up a dairy plant, Minister Ramsammy pointed out that the Caribbean’s food import bill is $5 billion dollars per year, and this situation provides an opportunity for Guyana to reclaim its role as the breadbasket of the Caribbean, whilst also contributing to a reduced regional food import reliance.

In discussions with Trent and Guelph Universities, Minister Ramsammy called for the establishment of a consortium between the Guyana Ministry of Agriculture; Trent University; the High Commission of Canada; the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture Farm and Rural Affairs; University of Guelph; IICA; and Grasshill farms. This partnership would help Guyana set up a National Soil Laboratory that would offer support between the agriculture and extractive sectors.
The statement said, too, that the establishing of a multi-sectorial grouping would allow for Guyana to leverage the expertise of the partners and will facilitate access to laboratory funding through the Export Development Bank of Canada and private investors.
*** PHOTO saved in Graphics file as: Ramsammy Canada 1
‘Minister Ramsammy tours Maryland Dairy Farm’: In photo, from left, are Jose Gonzales, Jim Callahan, Dr. Dindyal Permaul, Dr. Doobay, Minister Leslie Ramsammy, Lloyd Wicks, Richard Ross, Shannon McCarthy, Nicole Johnson and Kelly Maloney.