Agriculture is perhaps man’s most important endeavour because it is the means of producing food which is a necessity for both his survival and health and in that process it has become a crucial earner of livelihoods of a vast number of people and their families. For instance, in Africa about 203 million people, or 56.6 percent of the total labour force, were engaged in agricultural labor in 2002. In most African countries, agriculture supports the survival and well-being of up to 70 percent of the population. Agriculture represents a vital part of the Australian economy and is significant in world trade for several commodities. In 2004-05 there were an estimated 366 000 people employed in agriculture.
But today many challenges face the agriculture sector including global warming and climate change, decreasing soil productivity, reducing availability of land and fresh water, higher costs of inputs, poor infrastructure and the struggle to feed a growing world population, particularly in the developing and poorer and regions of the globe.
According to the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) world population will grow from around 6 billion people today to 8.3 billion people in 2030. Population growth will be growing at an average of 1.1 percent a year up to 2030, compared to 1.7 percent annually over the past 30 years. At the same time, an ever increasing share of the world’s population is well-fed. As a result, the growth in world demand for agricultural products is expected to slow further, from an average 2.2 percent annually over the past 30 years to 1.5 percent per year until 2030. In developing countries, the slowdown will be more dramatic, from 3.7 percent for the past 30 years to an average of 2 percent until 2030.
However, the developing countries with low to medium levels of consumption, accounting for about half of the population in developing countries, would see demand growth slowing only from 2.9 to 2.5 percent per year, and per caput consumption increasing.
With respect to water resources FAO points out that at the global level there is enough water available, but some regions will face serious water shortages. A 14 percent increase in water withdrawals for irrigation is expected for developing countries by 2030. One in five developing countries will be suffering water scarcity. Two countries, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and Saudi-Arabia, are already using more water for irrigation than their annual renewable resources, by drawing on fossil groundwater. In large areas of India and China, ground-water levels are falling by 1 to 3 metres per year. These regions will need to use water more efficiently. Agriculture is responsible for about 70 percent of all fresh water withdrawn for human use. Saving water in agriculture means that more water is available for other sectors.
Availability of fresh water is posing greater challenges especially against the backdrop of climate change and the El Nino/La Nina phenomenon which resulted in severe droughts in several parts of the world. Therefore, agricultural policies and programmes must place significant focus on water conservation and the efficient use of water resources.
Our economy is agriculture based and will remain so for a very long period, as such every effort has to be made to ensure the agriculture sector continues to increase production and productivity through greater application of science and technology, improved infrastructure, opening up of more agricultural lands, financial support from the banking sector and intensified farmers education and training.
The agriculture sector in Guyana has performed well in recent years resulting in self-sufficiency in food production and food items such as poultry products which had to be imported are now produced in adequate quantities by our local producers.
This improvement in agricultural output is impressive when one considers that this government inherited an agriculture sector that was on its knees and struggling for survival as result of neglect of infrastructure, poor agricultural policies, alienation of farmers from the management of the agriculture sector, etc.
Today while the situation has improved significantly there is still much more to be done and this has been alluded to by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud during his presentation to the budget debate.
“If we are going to consolidate our gains, if we are going to intensify the transformation of our economy and our living conditions, agriculture is very important and a review of this budget will confirm that perspective shared by our government,” the minister stressed.
But added that notwithstanding the progress the sector has been making over the years, there is still much more to be done in order to develop the type of infrastructure that is needed to take the sector forward.
With continued visionary policies, commitment, innovation and the will to succeed the agriculture will overcome the challenges and rise to heights to once again become the “bread basket of the Caribbean” as it did in the late 1950s/early 1960s and also major player on the international food market.