THE Ministry of Agriculture, on Wednesday, convened a project exit workshop on behalf of the Government of Guyana and the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB)-funded Agriculture Export Diversification Project (ADP).

The workshop, which was held at the Guyana International Conference Centre, Liliendaal, engaged a number of relevant stakeholders, and brought to a formal end, a six-year long project which was being executed by the Ministry’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit (ASDU) in collaboration with technical experts from the bank.

IDB’s Chief Operations Officer, Leslie Ann-Edwards, in her remarks, said that “as the developmental partner of choice for many countries in Latin America and the Caribbean, the IDB was honoured to have been chosen by

the Government of Guyana to undertake with you this very important project. It was an area where we were able to share our technical expertise and those of the sector leaders in Guyana.”
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Finance, Juan Edghill, expressed the hope that through this project, Guyana can set standards and best practices that other countries in the Region can follow.

He said the Government has been continuously investing in agriculture, as it is seen as the “lifeblood” of many rural families across the countries. Over the last six years, under this programme, the Government has spent close to $4.6B.

This programme focuses on: promotion of private sector entrepreneurship in agro-businesses; improving the capabilities of agro-businesses export and facilitation services; strengthening and consolidating agricultural health and food-safety services and drainage and irrigation rehabilitation.

The minister reminded that, “the benefits of this programme must be carefully examined and not just be seen as another programme that was executed and completed.”

He said the state-of-the-art Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, which was one of the major achievements under the ADP, can service the entire livestock sector and expressed the hope that very soon Guyana can become a major exporter of meat to the Caribbean Region and even further afield.

Through this programme, business facilitation centres were established in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six and Ten. These centres are designed to assist farmers in research and identification of market opportunities.

Minister Edghill also spoke of the legislative framework that was put in place by the Government to further consolidate the gains of this programme. These include: Plant, Animal and Seeds Act and the Food Safety Act.

Training was also conducted in areas such as: safe use and management of pesticides, agro-businesses, marketing and post-harvest management, and sustainable agriculture practices.

Minister Edghill said that while the Government will continue to provide the infrastructure, the enabling environment and creating the opportunities, the beneficiaries must make maximum use of these investments.

In 2008, the Government undertook a loan agreement with the IDB to the value of US $20M, with the overarching goal of increasing Guyana’s export growth rate and reducing volatility with respect to the agriculture sector.

In addition to the Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, some of the other achievements include: establishment of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), artificial insemination laboratory at Mon Repos, importation of animals for the breeding enhancing programme, construction of quarantine outposts at St. Ignatius and Mabura, Rehabilitation of Canals Polder drainage and irrigation structures, and the provision of loans and grants to farmers under cluster groups among others.