–observation slated to begin tomorrow

THE Agricultural sector plays a strategic role in the process of the economic development of Guyana and is a significant contributor to Guyana’s domestic food and nutrition.

The Government of Guyana will continue to promote and support the development of agriculture in the country, whether it is through a shift from substantive farming to market-led farming; through livelihood and income-generating opportunities; and/or the delivery of quality agricultural produce, products and services of local consumption.

Minister of Agriculture, Noel Holder gave this assurance while noting that Guyana is poised to be an oil-producing state in 2020, as he apprised media operatives of upcoming activities to be held in observance of Agriculture Month, which will be observed this year under the theme, “Sustainable Agriculture for ensuring Food Safety and a Green Economy”.
With Minister Holder was Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Valerie Adams-Yearwood.

Also in attendance were Deputy Permanent Secretary Aretha Henry, and representatives of departments, agencies and organisations affiliated to the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA), including the Fisheries Department, National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA), Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB), Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agricultural Development Authority (MMA/ADA), the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA),and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), among other agencies.

The month-long activities will begin on Sunday, with an Interfaith Service at the Agriculture Ministry’s Regent Street head office, and conclude on October 26, when ten events would be held at different venues and differing times.

Bringing down the curtain on the exercise will be hosting of Essequibo Night at Anna Regina, in Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam).

Minister Holder specifically highlighted the launch of a Climate-Smart Agriculture Project’ (CSAP), with the initial event slated to be held in Regions One (Barima- Waini) at 09:00 hours on October 1, 2019. Similar events will also take place in Regions Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam); Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara); Four (Demerara-Mahaica); Five (Mahaica-Berbice); Six (East Berbice-Corentyne); Nine (Upper-Takutu-Upper Essequibo); and 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) on varying dates.

CLIMATE-SMART AGRICULTURE
Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) is an approach to managing agricultural systems to respond to climate change, and is one of the sustainable agricultural approaches for a ‘Green’ Economy.

The CSAP is a joint initiative involving the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), and the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF) of the Ministry of Finance, that will provide opportunities for farmers and community groups to establish new, or to scale up existing, shade houses, Minister Holder stated.

He said that agriculture contributes 16.2 per cent to the national Gross Domestic Product (GDP); that the relative share nationally of persons employed in agriculture is 17.8 per cent; and that approximately 26 per cent of Guyana’s export earnings comes from agriculture.

He said, too, that the ministry has been pursuing interventions to ensure food security for all, specifically access to safe food throughout the country, with a view to maintaining a healthy and productive population.

FOOD SAFETY AUTHORITY
And, with legislation now in place for Food Safety and Animal Welfare, the focus of the Agriculture Ministry is on the oversight required to regulate the food ecosystem. As such, they have embarked on the operational of the Food Safety Authority (FSA).

The FSA will assist in the prevention of food-borne diseases through the control of production, preparation, handling, storage and transportation of food, as well as coordinate and regulate the fragmented system for food safety in Guyana.

To give life to this vision, and by enduring food safety through monitoring the use, patterns and practices of chemicals by examining pesticide residues in agriculture produce, the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) will commission its new Pesticides Laboratory on October 24, 2019.

In addition, the Hydrometeorological Service will, on October 23, 2019, commission its Water Quality Laboratory that will facilitate the testing of water samples gathered from both ground and surface water sources, to ascertain their quality, for instance if it is safe, and to establish a database for national water quality.

The ‘lab’ will also support and inform environmental protection, infrastructural development and agriculture among other things.
Other noteworthy events for Agriculture Month include the commissioning of an Automatic Weather Station at St. Cuthbert’s Mission on October 9 by the ‘Hydromet’ Department; the handing over of the Management Plan for the Artisanal Sector 2019-2024 to the Fisheries Department by the World Wildlife Fund (WWF) on October 14, 2019; and the commissioning of the GRDB’s new head office at the Agriculture Complex, La Bonne Intention (LBI), East Coast Demerara on October 25.

OTHER ACTIVITIES
Other annual activities that have become synonymous with Agriculture Month and will again be held, include the National Tree Day on October 11; World Food Day on October 16; Open Days at the Rice Research Station at Burma, West Coast Berbice on October 10 2019; at the Mon Repos Agricultural Complex on October 18, 2019; and at the MMA/ADA on October 25, 2019.

So, too will be NAREI’s Annual Research Conference; the Ministry of Agriculture’s Fitness Walk, the Health Fair and Healthy Cook-Off Competition; the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) Ambulatory and Community Outreaches across the regions; NAREI’s Farmers’ Career Day and the GMC Farmers and Agro-Processors’ Market Day among others.

Meanwhile, for the first time ever, two events targeting the elderly and the disabled have also been added to the Agriculture Month calendar of events, Minister Patterson-Yearwood announced.

The first Agri-cursion Field School, as the events are titled, will both be held at the Guyana School of Agriculture, Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara.

On October 1, designated also as the International Day for Older Persons, a field school will be held where the elderly from Region Five, Six and 10 will be exposed farming techniques.
According to the minister, the MoA is of the view that the targeted persons, even though they are elderly, they can still participate in maintaining kitchen gardens at home.

During the visit they will learn how to do container agriculture, observe the drip irrigation system, learn about composting and be the recipients of seedlings, compliments of the MoA, so they too can engage in their own tree-planting exercise.

A similar field exercise at the same venue, will be held on October 9, 2019 targeting persons with disabilities from Regions Three, Four, Five, Six and 10, Minister Patterson-Yearwood added.