Minister Jeffrey promotes kitchen garden concept
  -at meeting on high food prices at Canal No 2 Polder, WBD

Georgetown, GINA, April 23, 2008

The government-initiated consultations on rising food costs continued yesterday with Minister of Foreign Trade and International Co-operation Dr. Henry Jeffrey explaining the factors contributing to the food situation now being experienced worldwide, and seeking farmers’ inputs on how the impact could be reduced on consumers.
            Minister Jeffrey at a meeting last evening at the Kawall Primary School, Canal Number Two Polder, West Bank Demerara, told residents of the four major factors influencing food prices namely: spiraling oil prices, drought being experienced in some countries, more demand by the growing, emerging economies of the world, and change in crop cultivation to facilitate alternative energy.
            Stressing the importance for citizens to understand that it is a global problem, he highlighted the need for residents and farmers to contribute towards reducing the impact by planting more fruits and vegetables. The concept of kitchen gardens was promoted among residents to help satisfy the demand of individual families.
The consultations sought feedback from residents and these will be collated with others collected at various consultations   to determine the level of assistance required to support them as they embark on increased production.
The need for more materials to help them achieve greater yields, such as fertilizers and chemicals, enhanced drainage and irrigation and more extension officers to guide the farming activities were among the suggestions proffered by the residents.  
They also queried the availability of export markets for their produce and were told that efforts are being made by the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) to source potential markets for the expected increase in produce.
In recent years, there have been increased markets in the Caribbean region and in North America for several agricultural items such as plantains, pumpkins, pineapples, squashes and peppers.
The grow-more campaign launched by the Ministry of Agriculture earlier this month, seeks to promote increased cultivation in order that farmers can help to satisfy the demand for food in their communities and also the export markets.
Government has made several interventions to help reduce the impact of rising cost of food. These include the removal of the Value Added Tax (VAT) on basic food items and reducing the Excise Tax on diesel to zero percent. The tax on gasoline has also been reduced.  Cooking gas and kerosene do not attract taxes.
The Ministerial Task Force chaired by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud has been established to further analyse the effects of the rising cost for food and fuel on the international market.  
There has been strict monitoring of rice to ensure an adequate supply for the local market and non-restriction on importation of flour to stabilize prices.

 

more bulletins