AGRICULTURE MONTH 2006 MESSAGE BY
HON. ROBERT M. PERSAUD, MBA, MP,
MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE
October 1, 2006 marks the beginning of Agriculture Month. Guyana has set aside October to reflect on the importance of Agriculture to our economy and our people, to celebrate our successes, to rededicate and recommit our efforts, and to strategise for this important sector.
October has been designated Agriculture Month because every year on October 16 is the anniversary of the founding of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation in 1945.
The theme for Agriculture Month this year is: “Investing in Guyana’s Agriculture for Food Security.” As we reflect on this theme, we note that despite the importance of agriculture in many developing countries such as ours, this vital sector has often been starved for overseas development assistance. Globally, foreign aid to the sector has fallen from US $9 Billion per year in the early 1980s to below US$5 Billion at the turn of the century.
We are also conscious of the impact of removal of preferential prices for our exports such as the 36% cut in the price paid for our sugar in Europe. We are preparing to cushion the impact of these developments and at the same time, investing billions to modernise and make more competitive our traditional and non-traditional agricultural exports.
In Guyana, Agriculture accounts for 32 percent of GDP, 30 percent of employment and 40 percent of export earnings. Sugar and Rice account for 74 percent of agriculture’s GDP as well as 65 percent of total agricultural exports, including shrimp and timber.
Our Government recognizes that agriculture must move away from the dependence on rice and sugar into new areas. While we have been making progress in non-traditional agro-based exports, the Ministry of Agriculture has formulated an Agricultural Diversification Strategy that adopts a cluster approach to export development which will contribute to a friendly business and investment atmosphere. This strategy, once fully implemented, will rapidly diversify our agricultural activities and increase exports. The Diversification drive is consistent with the National Development Strategy, the Poverty Reduction Strategy paper and the National Competitiveness Strategy which place emphasis on the need for agricultural diversification.
Non-traditional exports have been growing at an annual rate of six percent since 1993. Today, Guyana earns US$6M annually from non-traditional exports. We now export 78 different non-traditional agricultural products although agri-businesses face constraints along the supply chain. To efficiently tap into these agri-businesses requires substantial investments, enhanced institutional capacity, an aggressive business environment and strong coordination among all those who are part of the export chain.
We need to bring to the attention of investors Guyana’s comparative advantages to export other crops and livestock products which arise from its preferential position as a potential exporter to CARICOM. In particular, Guyana enjoys an advantageous position in terms of plant and animal health status since it is free from fruit-fly and foot-and-mouth disease.
The Government has been implementing reforms in the agricultural sector. These reforms have helped to introduce new approaches to land and water management that led to the creation of the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Board, the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission and more recently the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority.
These reforms have facilitated a trade and investment environment for alternative agricultural products and paved the way for investment in the drainage and irrigation infrastructure including the US$25M Agriculture Service Support Services Programme. But there will be other critical areas of reforms to be undertaken so as to propel the expansion of the agricultural sector.
The Government will look at improvements in services and support so vital for our farmers, loggers and fishermen success. There will be improved and expanded Extension Services; enhanced drainage and irrigation management; greater support for marketing of our crops and produce; and optimum use and efficient management of our resources. If we are to realize the full potential of the agricultural and transform this sector, all stakeholders must work in partnership.
On this occasion, I salute the hardworking men and women who have and continue to toil our soil, spend long hours at sea fishing, and many days in our forests tapping our vast timber resources. This month is also to recognise your contribution to our national economy.
I urge all to dedicate our efforts to support our agricultural expansion programme: when agricultural activities are prosperous, all Guyana prosper.
There are several activities organized in all ten regions during Agriculture Month. I invite you to participate fully in these events. I look forward to meeting with you, at those events that I will be attending across our beautiful country.
October 1, 2006
