First ‘Canje Nite’ successfully held
-as  ‘Made in Guyana, Grown in Guyana, campaign expands  

Georgetown, GINA, October 29, 2007.

The first ever ‘Canje Nite’ was successfully hosted on October 27 in Region Six in keeping with Government’s drive to create greater awareness of locally grown and manufactured agricultural items in Guyana.
            The event organized by the Ministry of Agriculture, New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC) and the private sector took place at the East Canje Community Playground. It was held as part of Agriculture Month 2007 which is being observed under the theme ‘The Right to Food-a Reality in Guyana.’
            A variety of local products were exhibited by farmers, various companies in Berbice such as Nand Persaud Rice Mills Limited and agencies of the Agriculture Ministry including the National Agriculture Research Institute (NARI), Guyana Forestry Commission (GFC) and the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO).
            In his address to the gathering, Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said East Canje was selected as host of the event because of the community’s vitality which has been supported by substantial investments from Government in areas of drainage and irrigation, road upgrading and sea defence strengthening.
            The Minister expressed optimism that residents will see the event as an encouragement to pursue further personal and community development. 
The exhibition allowed participants to view various items that are produced locally and Minister Persaud said he hoped that it would contribute to increased productivity.
            “I encourage you to be inspired by what you see and to support what is produced in Guyana because if we don’t support our own, how can we expect others to support our products,” Minister Persaud said.
            He further stated that his Ministry was made aware of claims that the Rose Hall Sugar Estate was being neglected and an investigation was launched while the Board of Directors was asked to review the situation. Several major improvements are planned for the estate and will be implemented shortly, Minister Persaud disclosed.
            General Manager of NGMC Nizam Hassan noted that events such as ‘Canje Nite’ are part of the Corporation’s efforts to promote import substitution so that Guyanese can be further encouraged to support local products.
Regional Chairman Zulficar Mustapha expressed gratitude to the organizers for hosting such an event for the first time in Canje and their indication to make it an annual feature. Reference was made to the launching of Agriculture Month at Orealla and hosting of several major events in Region Six as part of the month’s observances.
Activities similar to ‘Canje Nite’ have been held in Essequibo, West Coast Demerara, Georgetown, Rupununi and Bartica as part of the ‘Made in Guyana, Grown in Guyana’ campaign to showcase and promote local products.
This is part of Government’s wider vision to encourage advanced agricultural development particularly in the non-traditional crop sector which focuses on increasing production of fresh and processed fruits and vegetables.

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