GEORGETOWN: Agriculture Minister, Noel Holder has expressed intention to make the agriculture sector a strong medium for moving Guyana forward and ensuring economic and social security by 2020.
During his maiden address to the 11th Parliament on Thursday last, the minister said the agriculture sector has, and continues to be, an important contributor to the gross domestic product of Guyana (GDP) and to generate employment, foreign exchange earnings, and rural and hinterland development.
“The significant contributions of agriculture are likely to persist as a major component of Guyana’s economy in the decades to come,” he remarked.
Commenting on the rice industry, the minister said that, over the years, rice has excelled in its expansion, moving from a production of 298,125 metric tonnes (MT) in 2007 to 635,238 MT in 2014, an actual 113% increase in production. But he said there were many challenges for the rising rice industry.
He said: “We have to continue to work on securing stronger and wider markets for this industry; increasing productivity of paddy yield from the national average of 4 MT/hectare (ha) to 6MT/ha; improving the quality of rice at all stages — cleaning, drying and storage; and promoting value-added production of rice products and upland rice cultivation.
“The Ministry will promote upland commercial cultivation of rice, beginning with the Moco Moco Rice and Santa Fe projects in the Rupununi in Region 9 (Upper Takutu/Upper Essequibo), and these products can be a component for the production of poultry in the Rupununi, and (thereby) reduce imports from Brazil.”
With respect to sugar, he noted that sugar contributes almost 9.5% to Guyana’s GDP, and is a major foreign exchange earner for the country. It plays a major role in sugar communities around the plantations, providing medical facilities and contributing to the drainage of those communities.
He pointed out that the Coalition Government had allocated $3.8B to the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).
He added: “There has been a recent change in management to the Interim Management Committee (IMC), which will oversee the work of the Corporation for at least six months.
“These positive changes will place the operation of the 16,000-plus workers in the sugar industry on a very strong footing as we move forward,” he declared.
He noted that the agriculture sector comprises three other sub-sectors, which are: non-traditional crops (fruits, vegetables, roots and tubers, coconuts and herbs and spices) and livestock and fisheries.
He said the Ministry will fully support the productive efforts in these sub-sectors, and the same support will be given to Government services to farmers in the form of drainage and irrigation, agricultural extension and research, marketing, hydrometeorological services, pesticides and chemical services, and technical capacity through education.
He said: “In 2015 onwards, the Ministry of Agriculture will intensify its efforts to diversify and modernise the sector, overcoming barriers that presently exist. We will continue to support the sugar industry, enhance the genetic stock with improved varieties for crops and breeds of livestock, pursue food safety, improve access to more affordable and better agriculture input, further enhance drainage and irrigation systems, and enhance weather-related disaster management to accelerate the economy forward.”
