AT LEAST 20 local exhibitors will join 11 international others who have already confirmed their participation in the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) being hosted by Guyana from October 4 to 12.

The update was given by Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy on Monday, when he said an exhibition, as part of the CWA, will be staged between October 9 and 12 at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
He advised that, while there will be a minimum of 20 exhibitors from Guyana, the 11 from other countries have indicated their interest in participating and others are expected to follow.
Ramsammy also said there may be some competition with GuyExpo 2013, which is being held between October 3 and 6 at the Sophia Exhibition Complex.
However, he said that should not be much of a challenge since the CWA showing is being held after GuyExpo.
The minister stated that a lot of planning and resources have gone into it and he is now satisfied that Guyana is ready to host CWA 2013.
High attendance
Ramsammy said he is encouraged by the number of requests for information from outside of Guyana and expects a high attendance of ministers and technical people from the Caribbean.
In addition, he disclosed that some visitors from the Pacific have also expressed the desire to attend and the Regional Director of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation (UNFAO) will be in attendance.
Ramsammy emphasised that CWA 2013 will be one with a great deal of emphasis on technical aspects of agriculture. As such, he said there would be more than 40 agriculture science sessions.
Additionally, he announced that there will be a number of field visits in order to show visitors agriculture projects across the country.
Noting that Guyanese farmers are expected to fully participate, he remarked that CWA activities will greatly benefit students of the University of Guyana (UG) and Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA).
“It’s a great time for us not only to show what we are doing, but for the Caribbean to show how it is securing its food security, how we are using agriculture to address other needs,” Ramsammy remarked.
CWA is hosted annually every October in countries around the Caribbean and, last year, was in Antigua. The month of October is also observed as Agriculture Month in Guyana.