Reality of global increase in food prices and Guyana
GUYANESE farmers, rice farmers in particular, have taken full advantage of the global increase in food prices and are receiving as much as $4,000 per bag of paddy (compared to $3,200 last year). But the country is now faced with the other side of the coin and Guyanese are contending with the increase in prices for flour.
President Bharrat Jagdeo, in a recent stakeholders’ meeting, had urged local bakers to do their best to avoid the negative trickle down effects of the rising prices on regional and international markets.
However, bakers who buy flour from the National Milling Company (NAMILCO) could be selling bread for between $5 and $10 more.
The other bakeries will continue selling at the same prices; and Trade Minister, Manniram Prashad, said the bakery giant, Bakewell, imports flour from Trinidad and Tobago and some other bakeries from Jamaica, hence there will be no increase from this bakery.
In a statement released by NAMILCO last week, CEO Bert Sukhai said, “We have indicated that, based on the movement of wheat, which has increased by over 30 percent since last October, we were proposing an increase of 15 percent on flour.”
Food prices around the world surged to a new historic peak in January, for the seventh consecutive month, the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported, adding that the prices are not likely to decline in the months ahead.
According to the FAO, its latest Food Price Index average was up 3.4 per cent in January from December last year – the highest level since the agency
started measuring food prices in 1990.  It added that prices of all monitored commodity groups surged in January, except the cost of meat, which remained unchanged.
Prices for wheat, a critical staple, rose because of poor harvests in producing countries, more recently, in Queensland, Australia, where the flooding situation has impacted the global wheat price.
Locally, the government has lifted all restrictions for the importation of flour and is expected to be carefully monitoring the importation at the level of the Food and Drugs Department, as well as the Bureau of Standards. 

Plus Side
On the plus side of the food prices increase, Guyana has a chance to increase its production in an effort to capitalise on the current demand and supply dynamic.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud, in an invited comment, pointed out that the influential ‘Economist’ magazine reports that food prices have already reached the 2008 crisis level, which comes at a time when more millions of people are slipping into poverty.
“Many food producing countries have instituted export bans and others are in a buying frenzy. Pressure is being put on food supplies due to climatic catastrophes in all major food producing continents; and indications are that climate change will continue to put stress on the food production systems in multiple ways,” he said.
The Agriculture Minister added that the Caribbean region continues to import more food rather than invest in production and processing, stressing that there is no doubt that its vulnerability to price shock remains very acute.    
In this context, Persaud said the global and regional outlook is stark as it is real, but Guyana can offer solutions, or in an opportunistic way, prepare to take opportunities from this global affliction.
“Guyana is today prepared to cope with the emerging global food crisis. The food shocks coupled with energy crises of the past have caught the country out of the crease. So prepared are we that other than the minor shocks by imported inflationary factors, we can now take advantage and benefit from global agricultural commodities price spikes,” he said.
According to the Agriculture Minister, Guyana has learned from its earlier experiences and more recently, the 2007/2008 food crisis, and Guyana’s pro-activism in investing in food production and availability is yielding dividends.
He said, “Compared with existing global agricultural development trends and scientific recommendations, our policy and project approaches are being validated.”
Persaud observed that record food prices are likely to be sustained this year because of high crude oil costs and smaller crops, according to the FAO.
However, the Agriculture Minister stressed that now Guyana is in a much better situation than the crisis in 2008.
According to Persaud, the sector has been stepping up the emphasis placed on Value Added, since it cannot maximize on the opportunities made available through the increase in food prices by being only a primary commodity producer.
He said the emphasis needs to be on value added and the long term, particularly since Guyana no longer has preferential markets for its traditional products.
“Global food prices appear to be on a higher plateau and are projected to remain at levels above those of the pre-crisis period. The current crisis can lead to a further spurt in the local food production system. We must not let this opportunity slip away as we sustain the transformation of the agriculture sector and maintain economic and social stability,” Persaud posited.

Sleep-walking Caribbean
The FAO predicts that by 2050, the global food production will have to increase by some 70 percent.
Considering this, the Agriculture Minister said a framework for the repositioning of Caribbean agriculture, the Jagdeo Initiative, was intended to be the region’s road map to a more food-secure status.
“Unfortunately, since the 2007/2008 food crisis, many states have been sleep-walking into the current crisis. When fully awakened to the scary reality, it might be too late to prevent an escalation of social and health issues that can retard growth and prosperity of the region,” he said. “As seen elsewhere, a food insecure region is more politically volatile.”
However, he maintained that Guyana can offer solutions and stressed that the Jagdeo Initiative can assist in moving Caribbean agriculture forward in light of changes on the global scene.

The Jagdeo Initiative is a primary one that aims to develop and implement targeted, focused and practical interventions to overcome the constraints facing agriculture.
Spearheaded by President Bharrat 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.
The Jagdeo Initiative identifies and defines key, crucial and binding constraints to agricultural repositioning in the Caribbean Region.
Among the constraints identified are limited financing and inadequate new investments, outdated, inefficient agricultural health and food safety systems; inadequate research and development; fragmented and unorganized private sector; insufficient land and water distribution and management systems; deficient and uncoordinated risk management measures; and inadequate transport systems are other elements outlined in the initiative.
The Initiative not only looked at removing the constraints, but also at shifting the focus of agriculture form subsistence to agri-business; improving food security and food sovereignty; and becoming more internationally competitive.
Locally, pursuing the Jagdeo Initiative has seen several interventions being made by the current administration to help realise the country’s agricultural potential.
This includes the new extension services programme that entails several components aimed at aiding cultivation and production, and implementation of new technologies and research.
Time and time again the president has said that regional states need to be more energised in pursuing their own food security through interventions and investments in their agricultural bases.
The Head of State contends that while many countries’ emphasis on agriculture production waned, Guyana’s increased and was rewarded with success – with the exception of the sugar industry which faced many challenges.
Jagdeo has publicly said, too, that the move forward in this direction requires a national application, everything from the allocation in the budget for the agriculture sector, to incentives for agriculture.