…second phase to provide greater support for farmers
THE Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Agriculture, will expand the “Grow More Food Campaign” following the successful implementation of its first phase. A release from the Ministry stated that the campaign will now be intensified to cater for greater challenges and support not only for small farmers, but to expanding medium and large scale agro investments to benefit from opportunities resulting from the global food crisis.
As such, the government will be distributing fertilizers, seeds, planting materials and livestock to farmers and farmers’ groups across the country.

“Since mid-2010, and throughout the early months of 2011, global food prices have been steadily rising, surpassing even the levels reached during the crisis of 2008,”the release stated.

The persistence of volatility, which is the result of constant variations in price, will continue to create great uncertainty for farmers, added to the great risks already posed by climate change and recurrent pests and diseases.

And so agriculture in Guyana must undergo a significant transformation in order to meet the related challenges of achieving food security and responding to climate change.
Projections based on population growth and food consumption patterns indicate that agricultural production will need to increase by at least 70 percent to meet demands by 2050.

Most estimates also indicate that climate change is likely to reduce agricultural productivity, production stability, and incomes in some areas that already have high levels
of food insecurity.

Developing climate?smart agriculture is thus crucial to achieving future food security and climate change goals.

The Grow More Food Campaign was launched on March 20, 2008, by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud to increase food production in Guyana by adopting a market-led approach.

This was realised through the implementation of a plan which included the    implementation of a US$21.9M Agricultural Export Diversification Programme, the implementation of a US$6M Rural Enterprise & Agricultural Development Programme,     and increased investment in drainage and irrigation by restoringdrainage to areas abandoned by farmers, and training farmers to manage the maintenance of rehabilitated structures at a cost of $12 Bsince 2008.

Rural farmers, agro investors, processors, exporters and all those involved in the value chain have benefited from the investments made by the government over the past five years to boost food production and attain a lucrative means of earning a livelihood.

Investments made in the non-traditional agriculture sector allowed exports to increase by 115% in 2010, when compared to 2005.

Guyana is the only country in the southern hemisphere that is a net export of food, and has achieved the United Nations first Millennium Development Goal of eradicating hunger.

Meanwhile, the Ministry of Agriculture will continue to place prominence on food security and climate change by transforming agriculture and adopting practices that are “climate-smart”.

To this end, a number of production systems are already being used by farmers and food producers to adapt to climate change, and reduce vulnerability.

For the various communities of Guyana, agricultural production is both a source of food and a source of income.

Climate change impacts the four key dimensions of food security – availability, stability, access, and utilization.
Climate smart agriculture is agriculture that sustainably increases productivity, resilience (adaptation), reduces/removes greenhouse gases (mitigation), and enhances achievement of national food security and development goals.