President Bharrat Jagdeo has advocated the need for a broad awareness of the opportunities available in agriculture to get more young people involved in the sector.

The Guyanese Head of State made the point at the conclusion of a recent two-day private/public sector consultation hosted by the CARICOM Secretariat at the Pegasus Hotel in Georgetown to advance agri-business in the region.

According to Mr. Jagdeo, this approach is the way forward to attract young people’s interest in agriculture, not by “sexing or spicing-up” the sector.

He pointed out that the declining number of Caribbean youths in the sector is caused mainly by how the sector is presented to them, and stressed too that there is a tradition, as counties develop, of people in the rural areas moving to the city.

The President explained that the movement from the rural areas to the urban setting is due to the availability of facilities in the cities which are not the same compared to those in rural communities.

In the Caribbean, he said this situation is not so much of a problem but noted that there is a trend which indicates young people are moving away from agriculture.

Mr. Jagdeo stressed that today, many young people in Guyana when they hear the word “agriculture”, digging the soil and planting are the first two thoughts that engulf their minds, but which are really only a part of the discipline.

He said as a result of this perception, agriculture is not very appealing to a young man who wants to wear a tie and work behind a computer in a comfortable office.

On this note, the President emphasised that for youths to become productively engaged in agriculture in the future, they would require some level of education to cast away their negative impressions.

Agriculture holds opportunities ranging from research and development, marketing, information technology, and the entire supply chain.

“If we do this and agriculture starts generating more opportunities and greater income, young people are not stupid, they will follow that path,” he reasoned.
However, Mr. Jagdeo said this transformation will not happen overnight.