TWENTY-nine persons yesterday graduated from the Pest Control Operators (PCO) basic proficiency training course organised and facilitated by the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) of the Ministry of Agriculture. Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy highlighted the importance for persons to be so trained in remarks he made at the simple graduation ceremony held in the boardroom of the ministry’s Regent Road head office.

“PCO is a profession like any other profession, and it must have its eligibility in terms of who can be hired as a PCO, whether privately or in the public sector,” he said.

In this regard, the minister mandated the PTCCB to prepare a proposal to make it compulsory for PCOs to undergo a period of training before they become registered and are able to work. He said the proposal should be presented to the Board of Directors of the PTCCB, headed by Dr. Leslie Munroe, and will subsequently be taken to cabinet for approval.
“We should create that timeline that Guyana’s future is where PCOs is not just anybody picked up from anywhere and just sent out to do this work, as happened often,” he remarked.

The minister noted that many people are not aware of the potential for doing good or doing harm in the use of chemicals. He said that, this year, the PTCCB will play a far more active role in making people aware. But whilst awareness is critical, capacity building also has to be done, he opined, noting that yesterday’s graduation was the second of its kind.

He also related that the course will continue as an annual activity.

Dr Ramsammy pointed out that many previous generations did not know about the injurious qualities of chemicals. He said that stemming from a meeting with the late former President Dr. Cheddi Jagan, Guyana moved to change the paradigm, to ensure maximum use of chemicals that would improve lives in the country, while also ensuring the potential to do harm was eliminated.

He said that such meetings at that time led to the passage of the Environmental Protection Act and the creation of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). They also led to the drafting of the Pest and Toxic Chemicals Board Act.

He further related that Guyana became a signatory to two important global conventions, the Stockholm Convention and the Montreal Protocol, which deal with persistent organic pollutants (POPs) and ozone-depleting substances.

He noted that much of the work being done by the PTCCB is in fulfilling the country’s obligations under the Stockholm Convention.

Meanwhile, 31 persons participated in the two-day training programme, but 29 wrote the examination. Of those, a 100 percent pass rate was recorded.
Participants were drawn from several agencies which deal with pesticides, including Pestex, Rentokil, Pritipaul Singh Investments, and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo), among other agencies.