GUYANA has identified about six products under its new public sector-financed US$30M agriculture diversification programme to push on the world market, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud said yesterday.

Minister Robert Persaud addressing yesterday’s opening of a two-day conference at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown organised by the Caribbean Community Secretariat to advance agri-business in the region. Seated at head-table are CARICOM Assistant Secretary General on Trade and Economic Integration Mr. Irwin Larocque and CARICOM Secretary General Mr. Edwin Carrington. (Adrian Narine Photo)

Referring to the major project at the opening of a two-day conference at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown organised by the Caribbean Community Secretariat (CARICOM) to advance agri-business in the region, he said market studies identified the most competitive products resulting in the selection of about six for initial focus.

He told the Guyana Chronicle the products identified are in fruits and vegetables, aquaculture and livestock, including beef.

The minister said the scheme “will allow us to zero-in our efforts and be able to have products that are wholesome and very competitive on the world market.”

“The objective of this massive diversification programme is for the public sector to create the enabling framework so that the private sector can invest and make full use of the opportunities available”, he told the meeting.

The CARICOM Secretariat said stakeholders of agri-business in the Caribbean are meeting to identify the levels of collaboration needed in the short, medium and long term to move the sector forward.

The meeting has been organised by the secretariat between buyers and sellers of agricultural products.

“The dialogue will see participation from representatives of large small and medium enterprises, food and beverage manufacturing industries, restaurant and retail industries and agro-processors associations”, the secretariat said.

“The consultation is expected to yield a collaborative framework agreement within which priority and concrete actions to be undertaken in the short-term (within six months), medium-term (within a year), and the longer-term will be outlined. The framework will also identify the agency/agencies responsible for spearheading these actions as well as required support mechanisms to ensure that there is follow through”, the secretariat said.

Persaud said the significance of this consultation must not go unnoticed “as we can only weather these global storms – food, fuel or financial – if there is strong and effective public-private collaboration.”

“The critical task before us is to identify the building blocks required for a viable agri-business sector. We also need to look at what resources are available and how efficiently these can be allocated. Further, it is important that stakeholders make informed and correct decisions on where and what to invest in”, he urged.

He suggested that the thrust must be on making Caribbean food more convenient and ready for consumption in any environment – kitchen, hotel, school, workplace, travelling.

“Let us stop lamenting the decline in consumption of locally produced food and start processing and packaging more of them in the region. We must bring down the spiraling food import bill of the region”, Persaud declared.

He said this however means that producers must satisfy the high expectations of consumers and try to find the right markets and not to rely only on a specific market.

“This is where private/public sector collaboration is important. Market studies and being aware of current market trends are especially important for producers and processors to make informed decisions. The process is highly complex and costly to implement for countries with limited resources”, he noted.

He added that the Jagdeo Initiative (encompassing President Bharrat Jagdeo’s lead role for agriculture in CARICOM) represents the first practical regional roadmap to achieve the transformation of regional agriculture.

“While it is not expected to either solve all the problems or remove all the constraints facing agriculture in the region, we all agree that if fully, quickly implemented the regional agriculture sector will be poised for a faster take-off”, Persaud said.

“In going forward, the private sector must not be too overly dependent on the public sector nor must the public sector be lagging behind in providing the required institutional support and policy environment for the agribusiness sector”, he said.

He called on participants to come up with firm ideas and concrete proposals on how to advance the process which will redound to the benefit of all stakeholders and member states.