– Agriculture Minister
AGRICULTURE Minister, Robert Persaud, says the reason Guyana is in the enviable position it is today, compared to other countries with similar socio-economic standing in and outside of the Caribbean, is because of its sound policies. “We in Guyana are very fortunate to have a government, and certainly have policy programmes and projects in place whereby we can see an enlargement in spending on our people while having at the same time a reduction in taxation,” he told the House yesterday as the budget debate entered its second day.
He bolstered his argument saying: “Government has been able to increase investment in all sectors, focusing on people development, while at the same time being able to have the country’s debt at manageable levels. If we look at the global crises, we would see that Guyana has certainly fared well, and that is because of the sound prudent management of this country by President Jagdeo and the PPP Government.”
“If we look at the assessment of the [international reports],” he said, “we will see that Guyana has exceeded in many regards and all of us ought to be proud of that…that is not only to the credit of the PPP/C but to all the people of Guyana.”
Warming to the topic, he said: “Last year, we were one of three countries in Latin America and the Caribbean to achieve the Millennium Development Goal of halving poverty and reducing hunger. Doesn’t that tell us about good management? Doesn’t that speak to the progress we have made?”
Contending that the accolades that have been bestowed upon Guyana by many of the commercial banks operating here tell of the economic dynamism of the country, the minister said:
“All of us today must be proud of where we are, and where we are going, all Guyana, because if we look from whence we came, few countries would have been able to make that rapid progress in such a short time and transform the country. Today, increasingly, we are recognised as a global player, notwithstanding the size of our economy and our population.”
It’s a leadership, he said, that is pronounced on the issue of climate change, and in advocating on issues of concern to developing countries ensuring that “a developing country such as ours has a fair share.”
This, he said, is something that all of the people of Guyana must take credit for, not just the government.
Turning his attention to Guyana’s growth projection of 4.6 per cent for 2011, he said the figure at reference is in fact what the World Bank is projecting; 3.3 per cent for the entire region. “And that, again, Mr. Speaker, points to where we are going, and it points to this country making rapid social and economic progress for its people,” he said.
Government, he said, is resolute and focused on ensuring that in all sectors, particularly in the new agricultural sector, that the opportunity for wealth is provided to all farmers. “Agriculture is not only about planting in the fields; it is [an entire] value commodity chain. We are building an agribusiness sector in this country, whereby opportunities for wealth and jobs, and for the country’s development are given attention and focus,” the minister said.
Guyana has revolutionised the land management mechanism, he said. “Yes! Yes! We have a draft land-use policy. Certainly, that will go through the stages. We are engaging the National Assembly; we want people to have equitable access to land, and that is why government is taking a careful, studied and scientific approach to land management and land utilisation, in which future generations could also have access to land for the country’s development,” he said.
The minister said that because of effective research, two new varieties of rice have been developed in a record time of just four years and these promise to be resistant to weather extremities and yield more bags of paddy per acre. “In fact, we are testing six more strains as we speak,” he said.
On forestry, the minister said that Guyana is held up and used as a good example of forest stewardship by the International Tropical Timber Organisation (ITTO), the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), and the United Nations Forestry Forum. “In fact, we were the first country under the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF) because of the stewardship and management of our forests. That was a commitment we gave in the 2006 manifesto and were able to deliver on,” he said.