MINISTER within the Ministry of Agriculture, Mr. Alli Baksh has said he believes, that whilst small businesses and entrepreneurs should be encouraged, so too, must farmers, as without them the entrepreneurship objective cannot be achieved. He made the observation last week at the Lot 87 Robb and Alexander Streets, Lacytown, Georgetown opening of Guyana Shop.
The minister pointed out that, in Guyana, there is great potential in this small, developing country that has not yet been established.
“This is a country with a lot of products that are there that we are not adding values to,” Baksh insisted.
He recalled that, twenty years ago, Guyana was not like what it is today and there were very few advantages for small entrepreneurs but this has since changed.
According to him, today, under this current Administration, small communities are being encouraged to manufacture things that were once being thrown aside, and whilst the process is a gradual one, much more emphasis must be placed on agriculture, education and security.
             “I want to see several other things that we are producing on these shelves…as they can incur the growth of small businesses and groups from different areas,” Minister Baksh stated.

Vehicle
Meanwhile, Chairman of Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) Board of Directors, Mr. Paul Cheong said that Guyana Shop, as its name indicates, would be a vehicle to sell, market and help improve products that are manufactured in Guyana.
He said it will make products suitable not only for the local markets but also regional and further afield.
Cheong lauded the efforts of the various manufacturers and stated that the quality of goods manufactured in Guyana has been improving and has improved considerably over the last few years.
“The Guyana Shop will continue to work with manufacturers and help to improve their packaging and labelling, particularly for the younger processors,” he pledged.
He said, while this has been the case, there are still a few manufacturers with a lot of work to get done in enhancing the quality, standard and presentation of their products.
“Consumers and the markets are looking for improved quality, so we have to work for continuous improvement in our quality and standards. The Guyana Shop stands ready to assist where necessary,” Cheong assured.
Meanwhile, GMC General Manager, Mr. Nizam Hassan remembered that, during the middle 1990s, the corporation advanced its marketing services to local stakeholders, as lots of imported products were coming into the country with the opening up of the local economy.

Opportunities
He said a decision was taken, by the GMC, then, to restart an operation in which it must be able to sell all of its products or find opportunities for them, as the imported ones were coming in and the locally manufactured ones were not being singled out for improvements.
Hassan said, over the years, the GMC has successfully worked with local manufacturers, providing the services of distribution and, thereafter, working to vastly enhance the presentation, packaging and quality of locally produced products.
“Over the years, GMC has evolved to an institution that functions in a number of key areas…we manage two fresh fruit packaging facilities which are used by farmers and exporters…we have developed our marketing information centre to the extent we have advisory services and agri-business development services…we have a brokerage unit and are involved in monitoring crop production,” he disclosed.
The opening of Guyana Shop is evidence of the current Administration’s relentless efforts to provide not only food security for the country but also ensuring that local farmers and producers make available products of the highest quality for consumption, locally, at unbeatable prices, Hassan said.