– urges agriculture be a part of region’s development strategy
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo yesterday said the transformation of agriculture in the region in the next decade and beyond will be determined by how seriously regional policy makers treat the sector.

The Guyanese Head of State shared this view at the conclusion of a two-day private/public sector consultation hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown to advance agri-business in the region.

President Bharrat Jagdeo,with Dr.Edwin Carrington, at left, and Minister Robert Persaud.

He told the gathering which included CARICOM Secretary General Dr. Edwin Carrington, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, and representatives of regional and international development agencies that agriculture has, for many years, been neglected by regional governments.

He said the sector has been overlooked from a policy and inceptive perspectives, as well as in terms of allocation of budgetary resources.

This approach, he urged, has to change and agriculture needs to be part of the region’s development strategy, playing its rightful role in feeding its people in a world that would experience shortages due to climate change along with several other factors.

Mr. Jagdeo pointed out that with the shrinkage of arable lands and water resources, food production will be affected, causing a constraint for supply which will give rise to an increase in prices.

The President predicted that with this trend in the future, many countries will have money but will not find food.

He said given the predicted increase in global food demand, the region has the capacity to satisfy their requirements by investing in its local resources.

Other stakeholders at the consultation.

But the President emphasised that the region has much work to do in this regard, to push awareness at the level of its policy-makers to win their support.

He said Regional leaders have recognised this vision and the time has come for them to adopt a long term perspective on agriculture, and move away from the narrow political cycle of cheap imported food which can be a dangerous approach in the long term.

Mr. Jagdeo posited that to move in this direction, regional leaders need to provide incentives to farmers and invest in agriculture infrastructure as Guyana has done.

In addition, the Guyanese Head of State pointed out that the region’s trade policy has to be supported with the creation of a regional agricultural market, and its external trade policy must not be seduced to market fundamentalism.

He stressed that the region has to ensure that its market environment is protected as developed countries do.

He said, too, that although a number of measures have to be taken as a region to cushion the impact of the economic meltdown on the economies of individual countries, these investments must be geared to enable the region to emerge as a stronger and better unit from the crisis.

“We have to ensure that agriculture is part of those sectors that will lead us to greater prosperity,” the President stated.