FARMERS across Guyana will soon benefit from improved field support, following the roll out of the Ministry of Agriculture’s extension-restructuring in-service training exercise.

Extension officers from Regions Three, Four, and Five took part in the exercise at the Guyana School of Agriculture’s Mon Repos campus on Wednesday.

The exercise saw participation from officers attached to the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA), the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (New GMC), the Fisheries Department and other agencies under the ministry’s umbrella.

Over the next three days, extension officers will be exposed to a series of training programmes designed to equip them with the necessary knowledge to efficiently execute their duties.

In a brief charge to the extension officers, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said that while the country is increasing food production, staff must undergo extensive training to not only support farmers, but also support the ongoing growth of the sector.

“You will have to ensure that we keep up with what we are doing and you have to be more responsive and you have to be more accountable and we have to get results,” Mustapha said.

He further reminded the officers of Guyana’s role in the Caribbean Community CARICOM to achieve food security.

“As I am speaking here now, we have a lot of demands for our products in the Caribbean. If CARICOM has to be successful in achieving its target by 25 by 2025, then Guyana has to be successful.”

The minister stressed that dedication is the key to ensuring all that what is taught during the sessions is effectively applied when engaging farmers and performing extension services.

Over the next three days, extension officers will be exposed to a series of training programmes designed to equip them with the necessary knowledge to efficiently execute their jobs. Some of the courses that will be offered include crop cultivation, livestock husbandry, and aquaculture.

Earlier this year, Minister Mustapha launched the country-wide exercise in Georgetown and said that several break-out sessions will be held as the government moves forward its developmental plans for the sector.

The purpose of the exercise is to ensure that the ministry’s extension staff are capable of dealing with a wide range of agriculture-related issues, irrespective of the agency to which they are attached.

“For continued expansion and growth for the agriculture sector, we need a robust and coordinated extension advisory service system that is accessible to all farmers and rural communities. If you want to develop this sector, if you want this sector to be robust, then you the extension officer have to drive it,” Mustapha urged.