– Agri specialists urge East Coast villages
RESIDENTS of Buxton/Friendship, Vigilance and Annandale are being equipped to transform their education into businesses by the Buxton-Friendship Museum, Archives and Culture Centre Inc. (BFMACC).
On Sunday, BFMACC hosted its first Economic Development and Health Seminar at the Buxton Museum. During the seminar, residents were taught how to build capacity for Community Economic Development (CED) through information sharing and consultation.
In delivering a presentation on Agriculture and Livestock Management, LBI Estate Manager, Corbet Victorine, told the residents that agriculture goes hand in hand with economic development as it plays the key role in food security and employment.
Agriculture, he noted, is now taking on a greater business approach, and challenges such as access to land, labour, capital and heavy competition come in to play.
However, he advised that proper management can make the difference between the levels of success and failure.
“There is an artistic aspect to management. That is where managers separate themselves…those of us who can utilise the conditions and apply the art, those are the people who tend to succeed,” the LBI Estate Manager said.
Victorine told the gathering that there are numerous careers in agriculture and villages must begin to see the importance in the field.
“I implore on all of us that after a session like this, we must proceed to do the work that signals our attention to raise ourselves to [new] heights…it cannot be done at these sessions alone,” he said.
Victorine also hailed the museum as a true representation of the stalwart performance that Buxton is capable of, which has come strictly from the thought process of the people.
In her presentation on business opportunities for agri-prenurs, Agro Technological Scientist and Lecturer at the University of Guyana (UG), Dr. Pat Francis said that many young people are leaving the field of agriculture, thereby creating a gap in the number of trained persons.
“This is one of the main problems in our country where the young people who we trained, who we taught, would go to the farms, are not going there; so a different approach is being tried,” she said.
“We have to make agriculture interesting enough so young people will want to stay,” Dr. Francis added.
This is why institutions such as the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), are now encouraging students to form business projects while in school for further advance post-graduation.
Dr. Fracis noted that UG and GSA have also recently embarked on a project which will see innovations done on campus addressing the agriculture and agro-businesses challenges within communities.
She also facilitated a breakout session on the concept of the business incubator or accelerator through which the attendees were able to ask burning questions.
In written remarks, BFMACC President Ronald Willabus stated that the seminar sought to actively engage members of the communities in meaningful discussions which encourage positive changes and enhances economic opportunity.
Meanwhile, BFMACC Founder, Keith Easton, stated that the programme was crafted as a result of a decline in social and economic conditions in the village.
It is the hope of Easton that villagers will learn how to improve themselves economically by embarking on new business ventures, improving existing businesses and seeking out appropriate financing.
At the seminar, the residents were also made aware of the importance of health in the villages and the benefits of traditional and alternative treatments.
The Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Medical Outreach provided free blood pressure testing while there was also information shared on diabetes, high blood pressure, natural herbs and nutrition.
