FOLLOWING an outreach to Region Nine recently, Minister of Natural Resources and the Environment, Mr. Robert Persaud, and a team of officers visited Santa Fe Inc., in the Rupununi, to get an update from communities and other stakeholders on the environmental and social impacts of the project.

At a community meeting which was attended by the Regional Chairman, Mr. Wilson Lorentio, Chairman of the Bina Hill Institute, Mr. Mike William, Toshaos, community leaders and residents from surrounding communities provided positive environmental feedback on the management of the project.
According to Minister Persaud, the project is a realisation of a vision for the Rupununi given Guyana’s rich potential.
“We recognised that there are social, as well as environmental sensitivities of developing a mega scale farm in this area, and we made it absolutely clear that for any farm of this nature we will require clearance from the Environmental Protection Agency. We will also require buy-in from the communities too, and we also require that the farm looks at integration and involvement with the local community…,” said Minister Persaud.

These requirements were accepted by the investors in moving the project forward, despite there are no such requirements for other farms in other locations of the country, he said. He also commended Santa Fe Inc., for not only complying with national laws, but for also taking into consideration the sensitivities, concerns and suggestions of the local communities.
Further, Minister Persaud urged the residents of Santa Fe to continue to embrace environmental concerns and social realities even as they work towards the sustainability of the project. He also recommended that the farm explore the possibility of integrating waste-to-energy technology to support its operations.
Meanwhile, the communities were assured that this investment will continue to take into account all the concerns in moving the project forward while providing mutual benefits to surrounding communities.