MINISTER of Agriculture Robert Persaud believes that the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) could help Guyana’s agriculture sector to prepare for the ill effects of climate change and boost the sector’s competitiveness to maintain food security in the region. The minister made the comment while delivering an address at the opening of the IICA Accountability Seminar held at the Pegasus Hotel.
Persaud said that he sees IICA’s contribution as particularly valuable in the areas of Guyana’s comprehensive food security strategy and that this could be further demonstrated by supporting initiatives in hinterland areas.
“For us, food security is a priority. We have been able to achieve that several years now,” the Minister said, adding that Guyana is the only net exporter of food in the CARICOM. “But we do not want to be complacent and hope that things would remain that way. We also have to ensure that we have the necessary policies and programmes not only today, but certainly into the long-term,” the Minister said.
Turning to climate change, the minister said that IICA’s support for adaptation and mitigation efforts that will need to take place in the agriculture sector in line with the country’s Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS) will be particularly appreciated. This could include support for research, the use of food resistant crops, as well as scaling up the current projects that are in the area of agriculture and adaptation. “We have done with IICA and other partners a number of tests [and] models and demonstration sites and these are programmed to be successful,” the minister said. “We have already reached out to the private sector and we are looking to large scale investors to move these from trials into the large scale [and with IICA’s support] some of the areas that we are pursuing, we need to scale those up.
The Minister said that IICA can continue to play a significant role in boosting the competitiveness of Guyana’s agriculture sector. “We are eagerly awaiting the rolling out of the cost of production model to benefit farmers and extension officers [and] all those involved in the value commodity chain,” he said. The Minister noted that access to credit to the agriculture sector is another issue. He said that credit to small farmers is being given thought. He noted that the Institute for Private Enterprise Development has a large percentage of its clientele involved in farming with 47 percent of the institute’s portfolio going to agriculture. But the Minister said that more attractive credit options for farmers need to be explored since the IPED percentage shows that there is a huge market for credit.
The Minister expressed the hope that with the appointment of a new Director General, that the commitments that were given to regional agriculture remains strong and will even be strengthened in the near future. “For those of us within the Caribbean region we look forward to the fulfillment of commitment given “right here in Georgetown” to the COTED on agriculture and the other commitments that Villalobos campaigned for as a candidate, including the continued support for agro business, supporting sanitary and phyto-sanitary initiatives, not reducing its support to smaller states and in particular states in CARICOM, support for the implementation of the Jagdeo Initiative and to engage in the process of reorienting IICA’s outlook. “I do hope that the new Director General will ensure that there is much more targeted support for individual states’ priorities,” he said.
Persaud commended the work of the IICA representative in Guyana. He said that he has enjoyed an excellent working relationship with Jean and expressed the hope that they could move ahead with the overall mandate of repositioning the agriculture sector not only in Guyana but also across the region while at the same time enhancing the livelihood of rural communities.
He said that Guyana has embarked on an ambitious project to restructure the country’s traditional agriculture while at the same time pursuing an aggressive agriculture diversification project, which combined with the Inter-American Development Bank and the International Fund for Agriculture Development amounts to close to US$30 million.
He said that to achieve this transformation of agriculture, government has put in place a number of projects to “deliver on our vision of a competitive, dynamic agriculture sector, which at the same time could be sustainable and bring increased income and improved livelihoods for our people.”
The Minister said that while IICA’s contribution in monetary terms could be considered small, “it however plays a crucial supportive role in this process.”
He noted that IICA’s contribution include support for agriculture insurance, “which for us is a priority and we have been engaged with the World Bank in this regard. He expressed the hope that with the discussions taking place within the framework of the Low Carbon Development Strategy and even the international community’s commitment to provide resources for adaptation, that funding coming from these initiatives would be set aside for the creation of some instrument for agriculture insurance.
The minister said that the accountability exercise by IICA is useful since it allows not only the sharing of information but also the receipt of feedback from stakeholders. He said that other international institutions should take note of the IICA approach not only within the realm of agriculture but as they implement their regional or multilateral programme. The Minister said that far too often institutions are somewhat distant from the people they serve or are intended to facilitate. He said that the IICA Accountability Seminar brings all the related institutions together and allows them to have dialogue.
Speaking at the event, IICA Representative in Guyana Ignatius Jean stated that the institute has a mandate to report on its progress of promoting agriculture in the 34 member states.
That report captures the state of agriculture in Guyana including the Hinterland Rice and Beans Project, the Doppler Weather Station, Drainage and Irrigation, the Texana Project and the Agriculture Diversification Programme, Jean said. He spoke of the emphasis that has been placed on flood and drought risk, the promotion of trade, beekeeping, agro-processors, fresh produce exporters, surveillance of the carambola fruit fly and the agro-tourism project.
Jean acknowledged that Guyana’s LCDS is the roadmap for the direction of the country’s agricultural policies.