MINISTER of Agriculture Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and various Heads of Department and agencies within the ministry launched a strategy to significantly expand the horizon of agriculture to take an approach that includes not only increased food production and food security, but encompasses all the various aspects of agriculture.The strategy which sets out ambitious targets, such as increasing sugar production to 450,000 tonnes by 2020 and developing a new marketing approach, outside of sugar and rice and expanding marketing and competitive opportunities at the local and international level, was launched recently in the boardroom of the ministry under the theme “Agriculture our vehicle for sustained economic and social prosperity.”

25 PRIORITIES
The strategy identified 25 priorities for success and is based on the F-5 strategic approach to agriculture. These are Food security; Fibre and Nutritious Food Accessibility by Citizens; Fuel Production; Fashion and Health Products and Furniture and Craft.
Speaking at the launch, Minister Ramsammy noted that the strategy is a drastic move away from the approach of agriculture being important only for food and nutrition security, but instead seek to put the country on a road whereby agriculture will touch the lives of people everywhere.
“This 2013-2020 strategy is a comprehensive strategy that expands the approach of agriculture in Guyana and sets a new bar for agriculture. This strategy also very vigorously  rejects the notion that agriculture is for people who cannot make it in any other profession… it vigorously rejects the notion that agriculture is only about subsistence livelihood, this strategy in fact adopts the approach  that agriculture is one of the most robust methods of generating wealth,” the Minister said.
The strategy adopts an approach that opens the door of entrepreneurship for small and large businesses. Minister Ramsammy noted that, “it creates room for the small farmers, but not small farmers for subsistence livelihood, but small farmers as creating small businesses even as it creates a room for the large investors.”

IMPORT REDUCTION
One of the goals of the strategy will be focused on ensuring that agriculture continues to be a catalyst for building the country’s export portfolio beyond the export of sugar, rice and rum. It also targets the reduction of the importation of goods into Guyana. The strategy in fact spells out that at least 25 percent of imports such as corn will be reduced by 2020. It targets as well the $5.2B import bill for the Caribbean. The Caribbean imports more than US$200M of corn into the region.

CORN AND SOYA
“This strategy is so designed that corn will become an agriculture production of Guyana not only to meet our local demands, but also to meet a part of the CARICOM demand,” Minister Ramsammy explained.
“We believe that the Caribbean has no need to import corn and soya from outside of CARICOM.  We believe that all of CARICOM’s demand for corn and soya for the livestock industry can be supplied by the agriculture industry of Guyana, Belize and Suriname,” he said.
Guyana is already taking a major step forward in production of corn and soya. The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is currently finalising the methodology for large-scale production of the two crops. The institute also has 22 acres of soya at its research centre in Ebini.

INFRASTRUCTURE SUPPORT
Another major component of the strategy is the recognition of the need to strengthen the support infrastructure for agriculture, and in this regard, will focus on the realisation of a number of infrastructure projects, beyond the life of the national agriculture strategy, that is, the infrastructure support will be from 2013 to 2030.
Major projects will include the expansion of the Abary conservancy and the establishment of Mahaica-Mahaicony Conservancy. The latter will open up 200,000 acres of new agriculture land and lead to improvement of another 200,000 acres of existing land.  This project is estimated to cost between $70 to $90M, Minister Ramsammy said.
Other infrastructure projects that will come in line under the agriculture 2013-2020 strategy includes the re-construction of the Cunha canal and sluice leading to the Demerara River that will create another outlet and control point for the East Demerara Water Conservancy (EDWC), and in the process also improve 15,000 acres of land on the East Bank and the livelihood of farmers in communities like Laluni, Minister Ramsammy said.

DRAINAGE IMPROVEMENT
He explained that the infrastructure project of the strategy will continue the improvement of drainage by installing greater pumping capacity. It will also focus on the restoration of the five discharges on the East Coast that were closed in the 1960s and 1970s and assist in the control of water level in the EDWC. New pump stations are to be installed at Annandale, Paradise/Enterprise in the next two to three years.
The strategy in fact includes the construction of 34 pump stations in 2013, 2014 and 2015, Minister Ramsammy said. The ministry has already completed 15 stations, between 2013 and 2014, with another 11 on schedule to be completed this year. Seven other stations will start construction in 2015, he said.
The portfolio of infrastructure projects to be completed from 2013 to 2030 should cost about $2B and will also see focus on access roads, Minister Ramsammy said. The Ruby, Parika Backdam, Onverwagt and Laluni roads are being addressed at present at a cost of US$8M, under the project.
The ministry’s strategy for agriculture 2013-2020 also focuses on continued strengthening of support infrastructure for agriculture, outside of drainage and irrigation, like development of the veterinary laboratory. It also seeks to strengthen soil health as an important part of increasing productivity and quality, to expand and improve plant and animal health to improve production, increase production of livestock, fish and fish products, sustain high production of rice and increase production and diversification of crops, with priority on new crops.
The strategy also focuses on increasing the promotion of agro-processing and value-added products, enhancing transportation, storage and cargo space facilities, developing a human resource development strategy to secure an agriculture workforce, and build capacity for agro-energy industry, among others  areas.