AMONG the plethora of rich natural resources found abundantly in Guyana, the most valuable, unarguably, is its rich agricultural potential; and that potential is being exploited in most creative ways by the Government, to the extent where Guyana has achieved the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) in food security.

However, with all the fresh produce to be found in the marketplaces Guyanese are obsessed with ‘foreign’ preserved foodstuff.

All of our ancestors based their survival on agriculture and many grew rich off the proceeds, while the education of many outstanding professionals in various fields was funded by their parents toil in farmlands.

‘Grow local, buy local’ has been a recurring refrain of successive PPP Governments because, apart from all the health benefits, it also boosts the local economy.

No-one should starve in Guyana, and many who cry about hunger and poverty have grass instead of vegetables and fruit trees growing in their yards, while others prefer to make of their homes concrete jungles, every square inch of their yards covered with concrete.
Importation of foodstuff has taken chunks out of the GDP of Caribbean states, and the new global environment threatens agriculture in small Caribbean countries.
There exists a threat to traditional main agricultural products such as sugar, rice and bananas and the region has to work to restructure these industries to enhance productivity and value and increase product range.

Agriculture in the region must be ‘strategically repositioned’ and must rest on the twin pillars of global competitiveness of agri-products and balanced development of rural areas and communities.

This was the impetus that drove The Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture, formulated and launched by former President of Guyana, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo in July of 2002.
Almost simultaneously the Government also introduced the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign, encouraging homeowners to start kitchen gardens to reduce their food bill and eat healthier.
However, there are still crowds flocking supermarkets to purchase preserved produce instead of opting for fresh, home-grown fruits and vegetables, to the detriment of their health and the national economy.
Regionally, Caricom heads have expressed dissatisfaction with the slow pace at which the Jagdeo Initiative is being implemented within member states, noting that a more welcoming approach would see the region becoming more food rich.
The Jagdeo Initiative identifies and defines the key constraints facing agricultural development in the Caribbean and aims to develop and implement targeted, focused and practical interventions at both the regional and national levels to overcome these constraints.

In 2013, the Region’s food import bill was a whopping US$5 billion, with some $200 million of the total going towards the importation of flour and another $200 million for corn and soya for the stock feed industry.

Guyana is seeking alternatives and substitutes to certain food commodities, as it seeks to play its part in reducing food import.

Under the Jagdeo Initiative, it is expected that agriculture in the region will have made substantial progress in its contribution to sustainable growth, within a framework of transparent institutions and good governance that enables the transformation of its products and processes.

If the principles of ‘grow local, buy local, eat local’ are applied to everyday existence, the people of this country and the entire region will become healthier in both body and pocket.