… result of ‘Grow More’ campaign; climate-smart agriculture
GUYANA will continue to ensure it prepares to cushion the effects of increasing global food prices and continue to plan and structure agriculture systems to capitalise on the global demand for food and rising prices.
This is according to Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud in a recent statement to the media. He said that food prices hit a record high last month, surpassing the levels seen during the 2007-2008 crisis. According to the Minister, the increase in food costs will affect both developing and developed economies. “The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said its food price index, a basket tracking the wholesale costs of commodities such as wheat, corn, rice, oilseeds, dairy products, sugar and meats, jumped last month by almost 4.2 per cent from November. The FAO food index is at its highest since the measure was first calculated in 1990,” he said.
The rise of commodity prices makes it likely that the global food import bill will hit a record high in 2011, after topping US$1,000 billion last year for only the second time, he said. “Importantly, agricultural commodities prices have surged following a series of crop failures caused by bad weather. The situation was aggravated when top producers such as Russia and the Ukraine imposed export restrictions, prompting importers in the Middle East and North Africa to hoard supplies,” he said.
Persaud noted that there are certain items which Guyana does not produce and these, when imported, can see some movements in prices. “Further, the weakness of the US dollar, in which most food commodities are denominated, has also contributed to higher prices,” he said.
“However, Guyana is expected to cushion the effects and in fact stands to benefit economically from increased earnings from agricultural exports. This is as a result of the Grow More Food initiative and the ability of the Ministry of Agriculture to engage in systematic climate-smart agriculture to ensure that local agricultural outputs are available to all sections of the local population, and to expand its market share regionally and extra-regionally,” he said.
According to the Minister, the New Guyana Marketing Corporation is set to work with supermarkets and various manufacturers to ensure that more local products are on sale in these stores. “This will allow for temporary gap of the closed Guyana Shop to be filled,” he said.
He said that as part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s mandate, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), in collaboration with the Rural Enterprise Development Project (READ) and the Agriculture Export Diversification Programme, a number of projects will be undertaken to improve the production and productivity of the four Ps (plantain, pumpkin, pepper and pineapple) would be emphasized. “These would include the acquisition/importation of improved varieties that meet market demands,” he said.
The Minister said that additionally, new varieties of cassava will be acquired and distributed to farmers and work programmes will also be developed in collaboration with various fruit and vegetable clusters.
“Further, utilizing integrated farming in coconut growing regions to improve productivity will be done, whilst examining the prospects of producing value-added coconut products such as virgin coconut oil, coconut milk powder and desiccated coconut. Other efforts to ensure that food production continues in an effective manner includes continuing to expand spice cultivation, primarily in hinterland communities; and the provision of adequate and timely extension and crop protection services to farmers to increase production and productivity.
Also, to ensure that farmers are kept abreast of the appropriate and relevant technology to maximize production, an additional shade house and greenhouse will be built at Mon Repos for training/demonstration facilities,” he said.
According to Persaud, the recent bouts of extreme price volatility in global agricultural markets portend rising and more frequent threats to world food security.
“To reduce Guyana’s vulnerability, the policies being adopted will improve market functioning and equip our local stakeholders to better cope with the adverse effects of any extreme volatility,” he said.
Persaud said too that in past episodes of extreme volatility on the global market, policy interventions have frequently been successful, “as budgetary allocations and the sheer scale of price increases have generally allowed for meaningful success at stabilization.”
He said that accordingly, interventions have been short term, limited to the micro level, such as targeted consumer subsidies and safety net programmes.
Guyana, he said, will continue to use food reserves to buffer volatility, as these have proven manageable, inexpensive and effectual.
“Instead of engaging in isolated measures, the Ministry of Agriculture will seek better coherence and coordination in its policy responses. These must yield both greater assurances of unimpeded access to global supplies, and improved confidence and transparency in market functioning, especially in the major commodity exchanges. An improved public surveillance system on export availabilities and import demands will help temper uncertainty and enable the population to equip itself better before the full impacts of crises transpire,” the Minister said.
He said that these measures will also help stabilize the local agricultural market.
“The Ministry of Agriculture, through its various agencies, will explore and reinforce measures to protect the most vulnerable. These mediums will not try to fight volatility, but to mitigate its consequences by providing poor people direct access to food,” he said, adding that in the long run, Guyana will lower its vulnerability by continuously raising agricultural productivity for a diverse set of crops that proves both competitive and sustainable, as well as by promoting dietary diversification.