With prices rising globally…
– President Jagdeo
PRESIDENT Bharrat Jagdeo said, Monday, that interest in agricultural productivity in the Caribbean Region has been levelling off, a move away from the emphasis to improve production two years ago. He was commenting, at a press conference in Office of the President, Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown, on the Jagdeo Initiative he piloted.
The Head of State posited that, with the increase of food prices, similar to what was seen in 2008, there will, most likely, be a return to focus on productivity.
“Food prices have been rising, internationally, a steep rise. This is why I have always argued that we should pay more attention to agriculture. Somehow, the commitment and enthusiasm across the region waned when prices fell, again. Those countries will face a problem with food,” he warned.
Mr. Jagdeo said Guyana has remained on course, increasing its productivity, attaining food secure status and, to deal with the global situation, would only have to take steps to cushion the increase in prices.
He said a plus for this country is that the price increases will provide opportunities for its farmers.
President Jagdeo said the rising prices would have a major ripple effect across the world, on hunger and poverty and in the Caribbean.
He remarked that, it was in a similar context that the Jagdeo Initiative focused on advancement at both the regional and national contexts.
The initiative aims to develop and implement targeted, focused and practical interventions to overcome the constraints facing agriculture.

ENDORSED
Spearheaded by President Jagdeo, it has been endorsed throughout the Caribbean for its thorough analysis of the state of agriculture, its hard look at internal and external factors and for deepening the discussion of fundamental areas that need improvement, reform and/or initiation.
It identifies and defines key, crucial and binding constraints to agricultural repositioning in the Caribbean Region.
President Jagdeo told reporters the Initiative not only looked at removing the constraints but also at:
* shifting the focus of agriculture from subsistence to agri-business;
* improving food security and food sovereignty and
* becoming more internationally competitive.
“This requires national application, allocation in the budget for the agriculture sector, incentives for agriculture like for tourism and other things, clearly, you can have a regional strategy, a regional approach but many countries may not implement them,” he said. 
President Jagdeo noted that, while many countries’ emphasis on agriculture production waned, Guyana’s increased and was rewarded with success, excepting in the sugar industry which faces many challenges.
He observed that, in almost every area of agriculture, there has been significant growth.
“Agriculture has done a lot of work. Our production is increasing. We are seeing growth in our production,” Mr. Jagdeo maintained, adding that Guyana’s prospects for becoming a major food producer are growing.