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Dr. Ramsammy said the agreement is a concrete way of “cementing” the cooperation and friendship between the two countries, and the Guyana Government looks forward to more extensive collaboration with the Government of Venezuela in the area of agriculture.
He said the Guyana Government not only wants to further develop the agriculture sector, but looks forward to continued work with Venezuela to jointly end poverty and hunger in the Caribbean and Latin America.
“This has been the Bolivarian dream, and Guyana joins our sisters and brothers in Venezuela in the fight against poverty and hunger,” he remarked.
He said Guyana is therefore very grateful for the signing of this agreement, and further affirmed the commitment of Guyana’s farmers to produce the best quality of rice possible, and to meet all of the demands for rice in the Region.
The Agriculture Minister will be visiting Venezuela on May 15th to conclude arrangements under the 2013 rice agreement with the Venezuelan Minister of Food.
Dr Ramsammy joined President Donald Ramotar and Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett in welcoming the Venezuelan delegation to Guyana, and said he would like to do so particularly on behalf of the farmers and millers of Guyana.
“I sit here on their behalf. They’ve been looking forward for this trip for a long time, and so I’m happy today that, as we sign this agreement, they are here as part of this signing ceremony,” he said.
Venezuelan Minister of Food, Felix Osorio, said he is grateful that the agreement is being concluded, “because it will allow Venezuela to strengthen its food reserve”.
He noted that the agreement has grown and improved and that when it started a number of years ago, it was to the tune of approximately 20,000 tonnes of rice, but yesterday’s agreement was signed for 210,000 tonnes.
“We appreciate the support we get from you, and we do hope our brother, Minister of Agriculture will visit us in Caracas to give the finishing touches to this agreement…we have agreed to the 15th of this month,” he said.
Osorio also said he is happy to continue the legacy of the late Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, adding that new president Nicholas Maduro is now moving to strengthen friendship and ties between the two nations.
Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett and her Venezuelan counterpart Elias Jaua Milano were also present at the signing ceremony yesterday, and both expressed satisfaction at fruition of the rice deal.
Meanwhile, General Secretary of the Guyana Rice Producers Association (GRPA), Mr. Dharamkumar Seeraj, said the association greatly appreciates the efforts of both ministers of Venezuela to take the time to visit Guyana to sign the letter of commitment.
Seeraj said that technical details of the agreement have already been worked out, noting that it was being worked on since December last year.
According to Seeraj, the arrangement should have been concluded since March of this year, as originally scheduled, but the passing of Venezuela’s President Hugo Chavez resulted in a few setbacks.
“Nevertheless, I think this has been a speedy recovery from the death of a president to the conclusion of a bilateral arrangement, and I’m certain that the technical aspect has already been sorted out; so it’s just a matter of putting in place the performer invoice and getting shipping schedules and so on in place,” he explained.
He said the export of both rice and paddy to Venezuela should commence in about a week and a half, noting that this agreement has a definitely positive impact on the local rice industry. He added that the terms of payment which are guaranteed through the PetroCaribe deal are a “big plus” for the industry.
A few local rice farmers and millers witnessed the signing of the agreement, and expressed their satisfaction. They said they are more comfortable now that the agreement has been signed, and look forward to receiving better prices for their crops.
