— Nagamootoo says food security must not be sacrificed for oil wealth

PRIME Minister Moses Nagamootoo has said Guyana must not sacrifice food security for oil wealth, and he has urged farmers to remain in farming and embrace diversification.At the opening of a World Food Day Exhibition and Fair at the Mahaicony Community Centre Ground on Sunday, the Prime Minister said that although Guyana’s economy is expected to have a massive boost when the oil industry begins real work, if handled wisely, the agriculture sector can also become a greater income earner.

Facing the challenges of climate change, the world is seeking ways in which sustainable agriculture can be explored in order to boost food security, he said.

The theme for the United Nations World Food Day this year is “Climate is changing, food and agriculture must too”; and Prime Minister Nagamootoo has said that in order to honour the desire for change, Guyanese must “diversify within the agricultural sector”, in order to ensure food security.

“Oil wealth is good and welcome, but we must not sacrifice food security for oil wealth. There are countries today that are rich in oil but are importers of food and also water,” he told the large gathering.

Nagamootoo highlighted the plight of neighbouring Venezuela, a country rich in oil but deficient in food security; and now experiencing chaos and suffering from the steep drop in oil prices on the global market.

“Our neighbour to the west is a sad and tragic case in point, where there are daily scrambles and even mini-riots for food and even toilet paper… They’re scrambling for food, but they are rich in oil,” he said.

In order to avoid that plight, he said, more Guyanese should embrace agriculture, making it a full-time and not part-time job.

“We must put our available lands to better use, and apply scientific methods to boost greater yields…. We need to be more creative and adapt new varieties of seedlings and plants, and apply relevant technology to boost output…. We must open up new lands on our fertile coastlands and inland areas, which will allow for tens of thousands of acres of new agricultural projects by large-, medium- and small-scale farmers,” the Prime Minister urged farmers.

Praising the efforts of some entrepreneurs, he said that in recent times Guyana’s farming community has shown great pride in what it has produced, with labels such as “Grown in Guyana” now giving way to “Made in Guyana”, with sale and export of coffee, wines, packaged fruits and spices.

While rice and sugar are the traditional agriculture produce, the country has seen efforts to diversify through increased livestock and aqua-culture farming.

Nagamootoo says diversification would ensure that Guyana remains competitive in the sector and again become the “trail blazers” in the Caribbean.

He has also appealed to farmers to explore agro-processing, even while Government seeks to transform the rice and sugar industries through investments from both foreign and local investors.

The Prime Minister says that as a result of his recent visit to India, an exploratory team from that country is expected here soon. Government’s discussion with the team will include investing in transforming Guyana’s rice sector. The sugar industry, which is in ruins, is still on life support, and can also be saved only through diversification, Nagamooto said.

In his address to Parliament last Thursday, President David Granger outlined his vision for Guyana’s food security, which included the development of a more diversified and climate-resilient agriculture sector.

The President also spoke about plans for major agricultural expansion projects in the inland regions through the introduction of mega-farms, and has named the Rupununi Savannahs as one of the target areas. Such expansions are expected to provide a great number of jobs for Guyanese, and to make Guyana a world leader in food security, Nagamootoo said.