ROSAMUND Benn of the Pomeroon Women’s Agro-processors Association was re-elected president of the Women Agro-processors Development Network (WADN) when the body held its fourth Annual General Meeting(AGM) last week.
During the four-day meet, held at the Palace De Leon Hotel on Public Road, Kitty, the women also held discussions with local representative of  the Inter- American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture (IICA), Wilmot Garnett, and Caribbean Representative of  CUSO, Tara Persaud on the likelihood of further  support to facilitate their continued development as individual businesses and as a network.

Others elected during the AGM to serve until October 2016  were: Denise Thomas of the Kuru Kururu Farmers Crops and Livestock, Vice-President; Christina James of the Blue Flame Women’s Groups, Secretary; Gail Ann Goveia of the Waini Naturals,Treasurer; and Veronica Farrias, Assistant Secretary/Treasurer.

Meanwhile, delegates of the 11 groups which comprise the network reported that they had made significant progress  in  generating employment and income opportunities for members and farmers.

They said also that they have made significant advances in enhancing the  quality of, and the demand for, farm products in their geographic areas over the past year.

The members expressed gratitude to IICA  for its wonderful  and continuous support over the years and  the  non-profit development organisation, CUSO International for its volunteer placements which helped to build their business  capacity.

WADN also thanked Sterling Products Limited (SPL) for  advice, procurement and packaging and transport of their products to the recently-concluded  Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development Project (READ)  and the Small Business Bureau for the opportunities provided.

Representatives of the member groups have outlined plans for the coming year which include strategies for increasing membership; upgrading processing  equipment;  product certification and branding; and   increasing sales through proactive marketing of their products in local, regional and international markets.

Their aim, they said, is to  maximise the impact of the agro-processing  sector on the livelihoods of members and surrounding communities.

A highlight of the programme at the AGM  was a mini- exhibition on the sidewalk of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation’s Guyana Shop on Robb Street.