GUYANA is one of four countries that is to benefit from a Can$5M grant from the International Development Research Centre (IDRC) to promote food security in the Caribbean region.

Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy made the announcement during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle at his Regent Road, Georgetown office on Monday.
He explained that the IDRC gets funding from the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) and works together with the McGill Institute for Global Food Security of McGill University on the project called ‘Farm to Fork’.
The other beneficiaries are Trinidad and Tobago, St. Kitts and Nevis and St. Lucia.
In addition to the governments of those countries, Ramsammy said the IDRC is also working with the University of the West Indies (UWI) St. Augustine Campus in Trinidad, the Caribbean Environmental Health Institute (CEHI), the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute (CARDI), the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the University of Guyana (UG) and the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).
He further indicated that the aid takes into consideration the Jagdeo Initiative, which targets food security in the Caribbean.
Highly nutritious
In addition, the minister stated that the ‘Farm to Fork’ is looking at ensuring that food is produced with good yield but, more importantly, that it is of a highly nutritious quality.
“This grant is going to help promote nutritious meals and we’re going to be working not just to improve yield but to improve the quality of the food and improve the nutrition content of the food,” he asserted.
Ramsammy also said he has been asked to ensure that the project goals are promoted in the Caribbean and around the world.
“We want to make this a very successful project, so we could get more money to promote agriculture and, indeed, I have committed to making ‘Farm to Fork’ a special programme in the Caribbean Week for Agriculture,” he said.
Guyana is preparing to host the Caribbean Week of Agriculture in October and the minister said all these initiatives should make it one of the highest profiled ever.
He said the scheme has an oversight committee which consists of representatives from all four countries and the FAO, IICA, CIDA, McGill University and IDRC, who will have their first meeting in Guyana during the Caribbean Week of Agriculture.
Ramsamnmy said, as the programme is being implemented, NARI, the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) are going to play critical roles.
In addition, he is asking that the process works with those institutions to improve their library facilities.
“I want to move to a virtual library…not just books and journals but moving away from the space and maintenance intensive books and journals to computers and internet facilities so our students and practitioners or professionals could have access to the latest information,” he said.
The minister also noted that the Mc Gill Institute for Global Food Security is being headed by a Canada-based Guyanese, Dr. Chandra Madramootoo, with whom he is collaborating to enhance the post-graduate training opportunities for persons in the field of agriculture.
Special courses
Ramsammy said that would be achieved by developing special courses, for instance, the Agriculture Ministry recently hosted a workshop on sanitary and phytosanitary standards for professionals.
“I want to develop this as a standard course that is repeated every year at GSA. I’m trying to get from ‘Farm to Fork’ to embrace this and support this and get our farmers to support these standards,” he disclosed.
Meanwhile, a statement from the McGill Institute for Global Food Security revealed that ‘Farm to Fork’ has contributed to year round vegetable production, increased markets and higher income for small vegetable growers.
“The CARICOM Farm to Fork Food Security Project is demonstrating that vegetable famers can move from home and community production to more commercial scales, thereby transforming their livelihoods and, at the same time, diversifying and improving the dietary intake of the people of the Caribbean,” it stated.