NEW Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has forecast that the 10th Parliament of Guyana will be a busy one for his portfolio sector. He said, within three months, the food safety and management legislation will be finalised and taken to Cabinet for approval.
“A lot of work has been done in the last 12 years, in terms of the harmonisation of various versions of the legislation…within three months, we will see this moving to be placed on the legislative agenda of the National Assembly,” Ramsammy stated.
He made these statements at a briefing, yesterday, for heads of departments, to which the Guyana Chronicle was privy.
The Minister said that was the first of other actions he took in the ongoing drive to modernise and further transform the sector to put it on a more competitive and sustainable path towards building on a firm legislative foundation.
As Guyana increases its presence on the regional and international scene, by expanding its agricultural export base, legislations have become quintessential to enhance global trade, he said.
In the Ninth Parliament several pieces were approved, the most recent being the Plant Health Bill, the   Animal Health Bill and the Seed Bill.
The presentation of the Animal Health, Plant Protection and Seed Bills complemented the process of diversification and set the groundwork for the complete overhaul of the agricultural health and food safety system, in keeping with Guyana’s commitments to implement the World Trade Organisation’s Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, Ramsammy explained.
In keeping with the conditionalities of key institutional requirements of the Agriculture Diversification Programme (ADP), the recently approved legislations will form part of the CARICOM harmonised Plant and Animal Health legislation, consistent with the necessary Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) guidelines.
Prior to this, the two Acts were passed to pave the way for the establishment of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) as semi-autonomous agencies, which allow for the country to conform to international requirements for Animal Health, Plant Health and Crop Production certification deemed critical for Guyana to capitalise on the opportunities presented by the global food crisis and access the international markets.
These advances are in sync with Guyana’s major diversification thrust in agriculture, which embodies a revamping of the legislative framework and increased institutional capacities.