Health Ministry gets $18M to guarantee export standards
THE Agriculture Ministry, through the Agriculture Diversification Programme (ADP), last week donated $18M worth of furniture and laboratory and field testing equipment to the Food and Drug Department of the Health Ministry.
The $18M donation is part of a larger $100M scheme to advance the ADP and is being funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) at a cost of US$21.9M, with US$1.1M counterpart funding from the Government of Guyana.
The programme targets an increase in the export of non-traditional agricultural commodities and it seeks to establish services and institutions for a sustainable increase in the income derived from the export of non-traditional agricultural exports in the aquaculture, fruits and vegetables, and livestock sub-sectors such as beef, peppers, pumpkins, plantains and farm grown fish, particularly tilapia.
The donation was towards the promotion of standards and quality in agricultural produce and Agriculture Minister, Mr. Robert Persaud said supporting the modernisation and enhancing the operations of the beneficiary department will give Guyana’s products more leverage internationally.
He said the markets being sought must be sustainable and with some emphasis on value-added.
In that context, Persaud said the necessary paper work, to verify that international standards are set, is key to export activities for guaranteeing consumers.
He said, in addition to the Food and Drug Department, support will be given to other Government agencies, as the vision is to build a robust system as the ADP rolls out.
Permanent Secretary in the Health Ministry, Mr. Hydar Ally expressed appreciation for the assistance to boost capacity.
The Director, Mrs. Marilyn Collins said improved capacity in the Food and Drug Department will see the Agriculture Ministry receiving critical support through science.
She said the department supports public health policies and the import/export process as it relates to international regulations.
Collins observed that her department’s role is crucial, expressly in the context of value-added, a concept receiving increasing attention across the board.
The aid extended to it by the Agriculture Ministry will also see the capacity of the Veterinary and Public Health Unit being enhanced, she assured.

DIRECT RESPONSIBILITY

Under the Agriculture Health and Food Safety component of the ADP, the Health Ministry, with direct responsibility for food safety and quality, is expected to help the local industry produce safer foods, increase public awareness of safe food handling and processing techniques and minimise the incidence and economic impact of food-borne illnesses.
The approach of the Agriculture Ministry to the food safety system is based on the concept of ‘Farm-to-Table’ and, in light of that, the Agriculture Health and Food Safety component is expected to:
* promote the participation and fulfillment of existing obligations by the Administration, as well as those that will be acquired with the Caribbean Community/ Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CARICOM/ CSME) that are related to regulations, diagnostic and control laboratories, vigilance and  surveillance systems;

* establish an integrated tracking system that will facilitate both inspection and advice to growers, processors and packers on international standards, including Hazard Analysis Critical Control Point (HACCP);

* consolidate the activities of the inspection and quarantine system at airports and frontier points among agencies, and

* reinforce the laboratory capacity of the Food and Drug Department towards its accreditation by international food safety agencies, through the acquisition of equipment and supplies to modernise laboratories that support the sanitary and food safety demand for analysis and diagnosis.