-$7 million to be spent on training facilities and programmes

ONE of the main aims of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) this year is the provision of quality extension and training services to the many agriculture and livestock stakeholders across the country.
This was on Sunday revealed by GLDA’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Dr. Grayson Halley during a telephone interview with the Guyana Chronicle.
He explained that the 2021 budgetary allocations will see much emphasis being placed on training staff and farmers of the livestock department.
He highlighted that these interventions are necessary to facilitate capacity building of staff and stakeholders in areas related to livestock management, so as to have increased production.

Given the need for a specialised facility for training purposes, the building which once housed students pursuing the Regional Educational Programme for Animal Health Assistants (REPAHA) will soon be renovated and turned into an in-service training centre.
Some $4 million has been budgeted for rehabilitation of the building, which will also be made available to GLDA staff and residents of sister Caribbean countries who are pursuing studies in agriculture.
Additionally, some $2 million will be spent on providing effective transfer of knowledge to farmers through a virtual mechanism. The farmers will learn about new innovative farming techniques.

This mechanism will be farmer-friendly and will allow for the free sharing of ideas and information between farmers and technical facilitators on smart agriculture.
Additionally, $1 million has been budgeted to oversee the establishment of a virtual farmer-friendly classroom.
Dr. Halley stated that virtual farmers’ training is evolving as the new norm since COVID-19 is expected to remain for some time. In view of this reality, the GLDA is building its capacity to keep up with this trend.
“We are building like a virtual classroom which would help to train during these COVID period [sic], farmers virtually or from a distance. It will be equipped with a smart board, camera systems and the full works, so we can do in-house.

We can bring farmers to the facility or we can do online training for farmers throughout the country.”
Dr. Halley highlighted the importance of investing in training facilities for farmers. He empasised that the goal is to keep farmers engaged during the pandemic and to be up to date with new methods of producing a product of the highest quality.
“The importance of the training facilities is the knowledge transfer. We have to make sure that we transfer knowledge to the farmers, because at the end of the day, they are the ones who have to implement these things,” he added.