…says Rohee

GUYANA has not surfaced on any international forum as a country where starvation is rampant, General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP), Clement Rohee observed yesterday. 

Speaking at the party’s weekly news conference at its Freedom House Headquarters in Georgetown, Rohee said: “Hunger doesn’t seem to be a major problem in Guyana, as far as I am concerned.”
Furthermore, he said the matter is obviously a non-issue in the country when the initiatives of the Government are taken into account.
Meanwhile, he said the PPP is deeply concerned over the fact that millions of people, globally, continue to die annually due to lack of food and severe malnutrition, despite a commitment made by the international community to reduce world hunger by half by the year 2015.
According to information released by the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), there are some 805 million people in the world today who do not have enough food to live healthy and productive lives.
“The PPP is convinced that there is more than enough food to feed every man, woman and child, but a significant amount of that food is lost by way of waste, over-consumption, and a highly skewed distribution system which favours the haves at the expense of the have-nots.
“Despite limited success in terms of reducing hunger globally; there are far too many more mouths to feed, the vast majority of whom are found in the under-developed world. It would appear that a fundamental Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of reducing world hunger by half by the year 2015 will not be met, not because the resources are not there, but because the political will by the rich countries to provide the necessary technical and financial assistance is woefully lacking.
“The global food shortage is all the more unfortunate, given rapid improvements in crop yields through research and development which have greatly increased crop production and productivity,” said Rohee.
He continued that the party also wishes to call on the international community to ensure that there is a level playing field which would allow for developing countries to compete on an even basis in terms of market access and fair prices for agricultural products. In addition, there should be an end to the huge agricultural subsidies to farmers in the developed world which puts them at a relatively advantageous position in terms of market share and competitiveness. He noted: “Many of these developing countries continue to suffer from heavy balance of payments difficulties due to the high prices of imported manufactured products and low prices for their agricultural exports.”
He said the party wishes to commend the PPP/C administration for the progress it has made over the years in terms of agricultural expansion, especially in the area of non-traditional exports which is further boosted by its Grow More Food Programme which together have positively impacted on the country’s food security.
“Indeed, our potential for becoming the bread basket of the Caribbean is once again being realised. The PPP also wishes to commend the Government for providing meal supplements to our school children, particularly in the far flung and hinterland communities, which have impacted positively on the nutritional status of our children in addition to boosting school attendance.
“It is indeed laudable that the Government has taken a decision to continue with the school feeding programme despite the withdrawal of such support by the World Food Programme several years ago.
“The PPP takes this opportunity to call on the developed countries to honour a United Nations commitment made over a decade ago to increase their aid contribution to the developing world. As pointed out by Dr. Cheddi Jagan, the resources to eliminate poverty and hunger are there, but what is lacking is the political will by the rich countries to make that a reality,” Rohee stated.

(By Telesha Ramnarine)