Regional opportunities for the agri-food sector

A HIGH-LEVEL workshop, chaired by Clement Duncan, Chairman of the Guyana Manufacturers and Services Association (GMSA), with responsibility for the Trade and Investment Committee, was recently held at the Cara Lodge, Georgetown. It was held under the theme, ‘Business and Trade Opportunities for the Regional and Agri-food Private sector’.

Organisers of the workshop included officials of CARICOM, as well as the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the discussions were primarily focused on encouraging and building opportunities in the regional food private sector. Duncan noted that this was the second such workshop being held within the CARICOM region; the first was held in Trinidad and Tobago.

In attendance were Shyam Nokta, President of the GMSA; CARICOM’s Agricultural Trade Specialist in the Office of Trade Negotiations (OTN), Nigel Durant; Chairman of the Private Sector Commission (PSC), Desmond Sears; Vice-President of the GMSA, Ramesh Dookoo; GMC Representative, Nerissa Thornhill; Gregg Rawlins, IICA Representative in Trinidad and Tobago; Diana Francis, Policy and Regional Programming Specialist, IICA Delegation in Trinidad and Tobago, along with Wilmot Garnett, IICA Representative for Guyana; other representatives from leading companies in the local agri and agro-processing sector, government agencies, as well as other special invitees.

MAJOR FOCUS
The workshop directed its energies towards opportunities for trade within the region, as well as within the European Union (EU) market and there was open dialogue on this matter.

According to Allister Glean, IICA’s International Specialist in Agribusiness and Value Chains, “while challenges in accessing both CARICOM and EU markets was a major part of the conversation, focus was on two critical issues that tend to retard business opportunities in CARICOM, namely existence of Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs), as well as Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and export transportation and logistics.” It is well known that the combined effects of these issues have long frustrated exporters and businesses in the region, he said.

Consequently, two focus groups will be convened to address: Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) as well as Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs) and export transportation and logistics.

REGIONAL AGRICULTURAL MINISTERS
Duncan stated that the regional Ministers of Agriculture in October 2018, met and agreed on a course of action that would help businesses in this region to focus on pushing their agricultural products more regionally and extra-regionally.

“This workshop is a classic example of public-private partnership,with support from the donor agencies and the kind of support that the international agencies offer in helping us solve the problems… in the GMSA the main focus is manufacturing and services – services with a strong industrial focus and agriculture is very important to us in Guyana,” he said. “We have gone through three sets of strategies now, starting in 2006 – the national competitive strategy; 2010 – the low carbon development strategy and the green state development strategy (GSDS), which will soon be on board.”

He said that at the moment the GSDS is with the Cabinet and should be taken to parliament by December and hopefully by the first quarter of 2019 the country should have a green developmental strategy for the next 20 years.

FOOD SECURITY
Nokta said that the workshop is very timely and that he was happy to learn that such workshops are not just happening in Guyana, but in other member-countries of CARICOM.

He said that the issue of food security is on top of the global list of issues because of a constant high and changing demand for food and with rising populations across the globe, to about nine billion by 2050. Further, he said that the demand for food will have to increase 60 per cent times greater than what it is today.

“When you throw into it that mix of issues such as climate change, availability of arable land, potable water, population shift, organisation, the rise of the middle-class in some of the most populated parts of the world, and the changing food demands, it really becomes quite a complex issue,” he said. “And perhaps this is one of the reasons why the United Nations has identified food security as one of the critical goals for our SDG and one of the key goals that we need to work towards by 2030.”

NET IMPORTER OF FOOD
In Guyana, as with most of the Caribbean, there is a relatively small population base with a fair amount of arable land that can be used for agriculture, yet the countries are net importers of food. At the same time, the Caribbean Import Bill is about four billion US dollars every year, which is projected to grow to about eight to 10 billion by 2020, Nokta stated.

He said that the present situation is cause for concern because within the region there are the capabilities to produce, with Guyana being a prime example.

Nokta said that Guyana has always seen itself as the breadbasket of the Caribbean and this provides an opportunity for countries like Guyana that are producers of food and agro-products. However, the reality is a bit different; for indeed many of the agro-businesses and the supply chain continue to face challenges supplying these markets opportunities.

He said that these challenges range from trade-related matters and other issues such as logistics, transportation, packaging, promotion, regularity of supply, and quality control.

Therefore, with the bringing together of key stakeholders in this workshop, representing governments, international agencies, regional organisations and the private sector is timely, Nokta said.

GUYANA HAS HOPE
Wilmot Garnett, IICA Representative for Guyana stated that Guyana with its vast landmass, many waters and know-how can certainly contribute as a major provider of agri-products and services in the Caribbean and beyond.

“Today this dialogue, being supported by the GMSA and IICA will provide a platform for all, to fully understand the many challenges and agree on the way forward based on recommendations available through numerous consultancies completed over the years. It’s time to implement those recommendations,” he posited.

He stated that the team will chart a way forward on matters such as Non-Tariff Barriers (NTBs) and Non-Tariff Measures (NTMs), transportation and logistics, which after extensive discussions, will be presented to CARICOM Ministers of Agriculture, who recently at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) held in Barbados, supported these national consultations.

Garnett added that the new Medium Term Plan for IICA, 2018-2022 include a Bio-economy and Trade Programme to support the Private Sector in achieving its market share of both intra and extra regional-trade. (mercilinburke2017@gmail.com)