‘Make Guyana’s food strategy a world-class model’
AGRICULTURE Minister Robert Persaud has made an appeal to farmers, processors, distributors and exporters in the agriculture sector to demonstrate greater pride in the way they conduct activities in that sector, so that they might make it a world-class model and a larger contributor to national prosperity and opportunities. “Embrace the Grow More Food Campaign; increase food production, reduce food prices, and let us sustain our food and nutrition security in Guyana,” he urged.
The minister was at the time delivering the feature address at the launch of Guyana’s Food and Nutrition Security Strategy, in the compound of the Agriculture Ministry yesterday. The launch was meant to coincide with the eve of World Food Day, which is being observed today under the theme of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation, “Food Prices: From Crisis to Stability”.
Minister Persaud noted that the worldwide theme comes at a time when the world is experiencing an economic downturn, resulting in global price surges.
“The … global food price upswings (are) threatening food security in developing countries, and could be detrimental, especially to the poorest groups,” the minister said.
He said that, according to the World Bank, the 2010-2011 rising food costs pushed nearly 70 million people into extreme poverty, with 44 million falling below the poverty line.
“Further, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has predicted that international food import bills (will) exceed 1 trillion dollars, resulting (in) further increases in food prices in 2011. These global scenarios could therefore put added strains and setbacks on the global mandate of achieving the Millennium Development Goal One (MDG-1),to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”. The World Food Day theme of FAO has been chosen, therefore, to shed light on the trends of food price surges, and to ascertain the mitigating impacts, especially on the most vulnerable,” Minister Persaud said.
“With this global food price rise, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) is therefore appealing to nations, on World Food Day 2011, to seriously look at the causes of food price swings, and to do what needs to be done to reduce their impact on the weakest members of global society,” the minister said.
“The Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Agriculture, has therefore undertaken many initiatives to ensure that Guyana is on a sustainable path of being food secure, and to combat the effects of rising food prices on the local population,” the minister said.
Goal One of the strategy is to facilitate sustainable and stable employment-generating opportunities that would increase availability of and accessibility to food, especially among the most vulnerable groups. Goal Two of the strategy is meant to promote information, education and communication/dissemination systems for use, and consumption of healthy foods for improved nutrition for Guyanese, and especially for vulnerable groups. Goal Three will see the promotion of increased institutional coordination and functioning for improved food and nutrition security.
Representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), Ignatius Jean, said the observance of World Food Day should serve as a reminder that people should not take the availability of food for granted; but should consider whether there is enough food for all the people all the time, and whether it was enough for healthy living.
Jean said the fact that Guyana achieved the Millennium Development Goal of halving the number of people in extreme hunger, is a fitting tribute to farmers, others in the industry, and the agriculture minister and staff of his ministry.
He said Guyana has a key role to play, that of not only meeting its own needs but also the needs of the region, because of its natural endowment of abundant land and water.
Bobby Gossai, an analyst in the Ministry of Agriculture, disclosed that work on the strategy began one year ago, and consultations began back in January. “We must pay attention to what is happening worldwide with food prices,” he urged stakeholders in agriculture. He said the strategy would be monitored and reinforced with a view to ensuring that its outlines are delivered.