-As it pursues hinterland food security
THE Ministry of Agriculture, with the assistance of a private company, has commenced a $30M acoushi ant eradication programme in Region 7, and will extend it to Regions 1, 8 and 9.
Minister of Agriculture,Robert Persaud, said the acoushi ant has been a major constraint in hinterland communities, destroying farmers’ produce. The ministry has been steadily supplying the residents with spray can, pumps and baits to carry out their own individual eradication activities, and has also been training residents in the correct use of the equipment.
This initiative is aimed at ensuring that communities are food secure; and in line with this, Minister Persaud said that a comprehensive agricultural programme for the Amerindian communities has been developed.
The programme deals with the traditional constraints facing the communities in terms of agriculture and food security, he said.
The ministry, in support of the programme, has been supplying nearly all the communities with planting and farming materials, as well as breeding animals.
The ministry has also been encouraging communities to diversify from traditional crops, and several communities are now cultivating spices such as black pepper, turmeric, nutmeg and ginger.
The agriculture diversification programme has now spread out to encompass Regions 1, 7, 8 and 9.
The ministry has also been promoting aquaculture and enhancing apiculture in the hinterland region.
The ministry has been looking at introducing commercial type agriculture, such as the rice and beans investment at Moco Moco, Region 9.
Government has been making significant investments in the creation and renovation of road links in Amerindian communities, and this has made it more possible for them to access markets.

The ministry has also expanded its extension services to the hinterland regions, with officers now based in a number of these communities, available to residents to provide qualified agriculture farming advice and guidance.
Several persons from the hinterland communities, through the ministry’s extension service, have benefitted from apiculture training in hive construction and capturing of wild bees for rearing.
Minister Persaud said that the ministry has also, under the extension services, been providing veterinary services to the residents.
The Guyana Forestry Commission has been facilitating a comprehensive programme in engaging the communities in terms of their concerns about land poaching. The commission has also trained many persons to carry out their forestry activities in a sustainable way, Minister Persaud.
Minister Persaud said the ministry is hoping that when the CDP that is expected to be funded through resources from Norway, under the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), gets underway, the hinterland communities will maximise on the projects that the ministry would have been implementing.
Since the last Toshaos meeting, the ministry has been paying specific emphasis to the hinterland and has listened to the needs of the residents, Minister Persaud said.
He expressed hope that through the National Toshaos Council meeting now ongoing at the GICC, that the Ministry of Agriculture will be able to deal with the constraints and get the communities much more engaged.
Just last week, Minister Persaud and Presidential Candidate and Presidential Advisor, Donald Ramotar, held an outreach with residents of Paramakatoi and Kato, Region 8, where, in addition to addressing the needs and concerns of the residents,  supplied  them with planting materials, veterinary supplies for the animals, and farming implements, including spray cans.
(GINA)