– Minster Persaud
…at opening of 2nd village Indaba
MINISTER of Agriculture Mr. Robert Persaud yesterday joined scores of Victorians at the Victoria Nursery school, East Coast Demerara for the opening of 2nd annual village Indaba (conference). The annual Indaba provides the opportunity for Victorians inclusive of those from the Diaspora to be engaged in pivotal discussions aimed at enhancing, addressing and implementing new initiatives to move forward the community’s development.
Minister Persaud, in his address to the villagers gathered at the opening ceremony, reiterated Government’s commitment to addressing some outcomes of the conference to further improve the social and economic standing of the community. Also in attendance at the conference was PNCR’s Presidential Candidate Mr.  David Granger.
“I am very happy to be here again and I think all of us here will recognise the importance of such a gathering and hope that other villages across the country will also be inspired by such a move by the community,” Minister Persaud said.
“I do hope that after the general elections we will be able to have local government elections and that the new system will see greater power going to the villages and communities,” Minister Persaud informed.   
He also urged the villagers to work towards the better good of their village and its future inheritance.
Prior to the conference, the Victoria Restoration Trust, on July 15, submitted a list of proposed projects and works needed in the community.

The Ministry has again committed its efforts towards meeting those needs which include teaching villagers how to can vegetables and fruits, training villagers as extension officers, provision of chainsaws, portable bridges to allow tractors to cross trenches, production of hams, rehabilitation of the  koker’s door and clearing of vegetation.
Approval has been granted for the clearing of  131.5 acres of land in the Victoria backlands and the NDIA has already completed ‘crowning’ of dams to allow for better land utilization.
The Guyana School of Agriculture will provide training in ‘produce canning’, while READ is developing a holistic training programme for Victoria with respect to ham production.
The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will also be looking at several other drainage and irrigation infrastructural improvement works including the rehabilitation of kokers and installation of self closing drainage gates.
Recently the Ministry of Agriculture, under it Agriculture Support Services Programme (ASSP), rehabilitated and constructed 360 drainage infrastructure and 136 Kilometers of access roads at  Golden Grove/Victoria, Vergenoegen/Bonasika, Vreed-en-Hoop/La Jalousie, Canal Polder, Crabwood Creek and  East Bank Polder to the tune of $2.2B. (GINA)