– Minister Persaud
PRELIMINARY figures show a three per cent growth, above 2009, in the agriculture sector, indicative that the investments made have paid off.
Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Robert Persaud, making the announcement at his year end press conference, acknowledged that there have been setbacks and inadequacies over the past year but maintained that all efforts are being made to both improve and expand. “Other than sugar, generally, the sector has done well,” he pronounced.
Persaud confirmed that the sugar crop has been extended to January 2011, with 2010 cane production being 3.2 million tonnes in comparison to 2.7 million tonnes in 2009.
However, he said not all of what was produced will be processed into sugar, particularly because of the poor turnout of workers, between 48 and 52 per cent, resulting in 491,000 tonnes of cane being carried over into the 2011 first crop.
Persaud said, if the second cane crop was reaped in time, production would have been at least 274,000 tonnes of sugar in 2010.
He said the weather posed another challenge, because the second half of the year was wet and only 26 opportunity days were experienced from July to mid-December.
According to him, the first half was very dry and some estates had to curtail planting due to limited availability of water.
Persaud said, though, that effective response saw progress in the face of weather challenges.
El Nino effects were felt in the first half of the year and it adversely affected cane growth, especially at Enmore and Rose Hall estates and production was nearly 16,000 tonnes less than the first crop estimated.
Strikes also hampered operations following disagreements over wage negotiations, he said.
SKELDON FACTORY
Persaud said the Skeldon Factory defects will be rectified in the new year. They include damage to the number one boiler and the conveyor belts.
He said, since then, a contract was signed to have the damaged boiler repaired by June 30, 2011 and the contractor is, presently, working to identify defects which are scheduled for completion by January 31, 2011, at a cost to be borne by the Chinese.
Persaud said the Skeldon Factory surpassed the 2009 sugar production and, despite the challenges, Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) re-entered the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) market and was able to supply most of the demands from member countries.
He also said negotiations with Tate & Lyle, the main European customer, resulted in an improved price for sugar supplied to it.
Persaud said construction of the Enmore Packaging Plant is well underway and is on schedule for completion by the end of February 2011.
He said the sugar produced on East Coast of Demerara will be sent to the plant to make use of its capacity, as the markets are still favourable.
Persaud said the bugbear is getting the sugar canes from the fields to the factory.
He told a different story for rice, production of which was 360,000 tonnes and the highest export ever of 320,000 tonnes.
Persaud said exports have been slowed and continue to be monitored to ensure that there are no shortages on the local market.
However, even in so doing, he maintained that all the regular markets have been satisfied, including the CARICOM and European ones.
He said the commitment to Venezuela is 50 per cent fulfilled.
Persaud said optimism was low at the start of the year because of the adverse weather conditions but the investments paid off and the rice performed well.
He noted that Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) released two new varieties, GRDB 09 and GRDB 10, which were both demanded by farmers and performed well.
These varieties have already occupied approximately 30 per cent of the acreage being sown for the current crop and reports are that two candidate varieties (strain FG07-35 and FG 06-98), which have been identified for possible release, are in the final stage of testing for on-farm trials by Autumn 2011, Persaud related.
EXTENSION SERVICES
In relation to extension services, he said a total of 6,201 bags of seed paddy, produced by the research station, were distributed in the various rice growing regions.
Additionally, 38 Farmers Field Schools (FFS) were established throughout the country and 898 planters participated in 2010 sessions, among a few of the many interventions.
Persaud said 66 rice mills have been licensed and 74 inspected. The unlicensed eight have compliance issues, due to the millers being out of the country and unavailable for inspection or not having paid the mill licence fees.
In the fisheries sub-sector, he said the main focus has been expanding aquaculture and the responsible Unit conducted training with tambaqui, hassar and shrimp in Regions One (Barima/Waini), Seven (Cuyuni/Mazaruni), Eight (Potaro Siparuni) and Ten (Upper Demerara/Berbice).
Persaud said the Unit received equipment, inclusive of an excavator, a motor vehicle and laboratory paraphernalia to bolster the advance.
Fingerlings production has improved, with 74,950 available from private sources and the Satyadeow Sawh Aquaculture Station.
Persaud said officials in his ministry are working with other stakeholders in the area of marine fisheries and an agreement has been reached to have the fleet of fishing boats reduced by 10 per cent in 2011 and a further 10 per cent in 2012.
He said those steps are to ensure sustainable use of Guyana’s marine fisheries resources.
Inland fisheries also got attention and efforts are being made to develop a framework in which sport fishing can be done, a process involving the Ministry of Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
AQUACULTURE UNIT
Persaud said the Aquaculture Unit participated in a joint patrol, with Iwokrama, Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC), to ascertain whether there was any illegal fishing for the arapaima and other inland species.
He said the capacity of the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) has been enlarged and there has been a 7.4 per cent increase in the export of non-traditional produce in 2010, over 2009.
Persaud said the major fresh commodities exported regionally were pumpkins,
watermelons, dried coconuts, plantains, limes, eddoes and pineapples and the more exported processed produce were copra, coconut crude oil, coconut water and copra meal.
He said, extra-regionally, the freshest commodities exported were dried coconuts, mangoes, wiri wiri peppers, eddoes and pumpkins and, in the processed category were heart of palm, pineapple chunks and coconut cream.
Persaud said, of 55 fresh products and 33 types of processed ones exported for 2010, the  majority comprised coconuts (5,174 tonnes), copra (874 tonnes), pumpkins (465 tonnes), heart of palm (451 tonnes),  watermelons (435 tonnes), crude coconut oil (341 tonnes), mangoes (312 tonnes),  coconut water (188 tonnes), plantains (103 tonnes), copra meal (82 tonnes), eddoes (82 tonnes), limes (74 tonnes), pineapples (56 tonnes) and wiri wiri peppers (50 tonnes).
He said the greater amount of exports was facilitated by a new packaging facility, which was commissioned last November and processed 825,628 kilogrammes of produce, in comparison to 1,502,724 kilogrammes for the same 2009 period.
A total of 60 shipments by containers and 25 by air were done from the Central Packaging Facility and 34 sea shipments from the Parika Agro Packaging Facility.
Persaud said a marketing information system is functioning and continues to deliver what is requisite to stakeholders.
He said the Forestry Sector showed strong performance in 2010 and the rate of deforestation is 50 per cent below what is allowed, so there is still much more potential to be explored.
“There is tremendous scope for utilising the forest to satisfy local and international demands,” Persaud asserted.
He said, for 2010, production and export levels were favourable overall.
The volume of logs, lumber, sawn wood and plywood were satisfactory for most  months in 2010 and recorded production three per cent above the 2009 total.
Exports of forest produce for 2010 were also more than in 2009, by 38 per cent and over the budgeted amount by 34 per cent, the value being US$51M, representing an increase, over 2009, of US$6M or 13 per cent, with the prices seeing increases in value-added categories.
Persaud said the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board continues to promote their safe use and there has been a clampdown on the illegal substances being peddled.
He said the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Laboratory will be up and running in 2011.
SUCCESSFULLY EXECUTED
Persaud also mentioned that the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary (MMA) and National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) have successfully executed their water management and other programmes.
He reminded that Guyana, being below sea level, will never be able to prevent flooding but efforts have been made to reduce the incidence and impacts of it.
The Hydrometeorological Service continues to provide weather and climate
forecast for aviation activities, agricultural planning and decision-making, general public awareness (daily and seven days) repots and disseminates hourly meteorological data from its station at Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Timehri, through Global Telecommunication System (GTS) via the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Persaud said.
He said $600M in financing is available to, expressly, small famers, made possible through agreements with Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and Institute for Private Enterprise Development (IPED), with support from the Government of Guyana, as well.
Persaud said the funding is through the Rural Enterprise Development Project (REDP) and the Agricultural Diversification Programme (ADP).
He said significant work has been done under those schemes which have delivered.
Persaud said, under REDP, $96M were spent on interventions that empowered 426 small scale producers, 59 per cent of them women; 260 poor rural households benefitted from organisational strengthening (201 male and 50 female headed) and trade fairs and 15 scholarships were awarded to youths from targeted rural communities to attend Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) and other skills training institutions.
He said, under the ADP, implementation of agri-business plans has been supported and resources for genetic improvements secured to improve genetic stock.
“As the resources become available, we support the sub-sectors,” Persaud said.
He commended agriculture stakeholders, in particular, the farming community, admitting that their task is not easy but one that requires focus and commitment.
Persaud said the sector has a firm base from which to move forward in 2011 and has the experience of lessons learnt, which can be used for a better model.