… if exports are to be sustained
GUYANA could become blacklisted and its products could fail to access the international markets should there be no proper animal/plant protection system in the country, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud stressed yesterday. Ministry officials, together with stakeholders from the Customs and Trade Administration, Cheddi Jagan International Airport, Guyana Police Force, among several others, met at the Agriculture Ministry on Regent Street to see how they could together address the issues and support the sector. 
“In Guyana, we find that our system is very porous and it is a very worrying fact; It is about our own survival,” Persaud offered, alluding to the various “leakages and weaknesses” within the system.
In an effort to correct the problem, the minister said the Plant Protection and the Animal Health Bills have been passed in Parliament.
Persaud pointed out that the country’s exports could be jeopardised should buyers find that Guyana’s plant and animal health system can be infiltrated with pests and diseases.
“It is about our own survival. It is about ensuring that our exports continue to enjoy the current market space. It is about protecting our own economic integrity.”
The minister also spoke about the consequence of international organisations withdrawing their certifications from Guyana, once the country does not adhere to mandatory protocols.
With reference to quarantine inspection at various ports, Persaud cautioned: “It is a threat to national security. It is as dangerous as looking for a gun in a suitcase.”
He also conceded that the country has inadequate facilities at the various ports of entry.
Consultant Willem Marsman stressed that Guyana must change its system since there is increased trade ongoing at present. He said there is zero control at border crossings, such as from Guyana to Suriname, and to Brazil. “There is no working together and we have to change that.”
Marsman also charged that there is more need for office tools, such as computers that can be used for performing tests.
Permanent Secretary at the Ministry, George Jarvis, said that government has put in place systems for the export of non-traditional items, such as beef, fruits and vegetables, and aquaculture products.       
In order to export anything, Jarvis said that systems must be in place to assure importers of the quality of the items.
“Sad to say, the present state of our quarantine facilities and our legislation, prior to the one passed in May, did not allow for this assurance to be made to importers.”
The Permanent Secretary also said that the quarantine staff at the Cheddi Jagan Internation Airport is often not there, and hence the possibility of pests entering Guyana through plants and animals cannot be eliminated.