FEATURE ADDRESS AT THE LAUNCH OF THE KANUKUTIMES.COM JULY 6 TH 2007
SEA BREEZE INTERNATIONAL HOTEL
BY THE HON. MINISTER OF AGRICULTURE
ROBERT M. PERSAUD, MP, MBA
I am very pleased to be able to attend this event, as Guyana expands on the application of information technology, I am happy that more of our people, young people are taking advantage of all the technological resources that is available to us and utilize it to the benefit of the Guyanese population.
In terms of technology, the future is now and for us to make the most of it, we must prepare our young generation and in this way I am very appreciative of the fact that an online news magazine is being launched and operated out of Guyana and this is being led by a team of young persons.
As I indicated at the National ICT Workshop held on the 28 th March 2006, then as Coordinator the modern State we envisage depends on our people’s ability to harness and take full advantage of the benefits of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). A true measure of a modern country is no longer only its glittering physical infrastructure and metropolis or its sophisticated military hardware, but the advanced state of its ICT sector.
The Guyana National Development Strategy and the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, both generated by Guyanese after wide consultations, have underscored the promise ICT holds for Guyana’s overall development. In November 2005, the United Nations World Summit on Information Society declared ICT as sine qua non for countries to achieve the Millennium Development Goals.
ICT is therefore seen as an essential and critical aspect of our everyday lives; be it in the public sector or the private sector. The Government is rapidly moving ahead to have most of its operations carried out through the application of ICT. This can represent the cutting edge that is needed to be more productive and as such increase our competitiveness on the international market.
I quote from the statement H.E the President Bharrat Jadgeo made at the National ICT Workshop in March of last year, “ICT and its diffusion in Guyana is so important and it has cross-cutting implications for all sectors of our economy, that is to provide better services and boosting our productivity….”
The significance of this statement is that not only one sector can claim benefits from this technology. The Ministry of Agriculture is forging ahead in its quest to have applications of ICT from farm to fork as we say in the sector. The availability at the click of a button, at the farm level, of market intelligence, weather bulletins, prices of various inputs and other essential information, is becoming more of a reality. We are in the process of linking all of our port of entry offices so that we can have real time information flowing to and for so that clearing goods at the port of entry and exit will be done in the most efficient and quick manner. We have during the past three matters established five Information Technology Centres for farmers. We are liberating our farmers through improvement using I.T. As you all know Agricultural products have limited shelf life and the earlier we get it to the consumer the more money is earned.
Very soon, workers in the sugar industry will be receiving I.T. training during the out of crop. This we intend to extend in other areas of agriculture.
That is just one example of what ICT can do to help improve efficiency and productivity in the Agriculture Sector. The other sectors such as Education and health can realize vast benefits from ICT.
We know that there will be hurdles to overcome. We know too that Guyana must do what is necessary to fulfill our ICT destiny.
Although there is currently a lack of adequate infrastructure or suitable enabling environment, President Bharrat Jagdeo himself has directed the development of the strategy and has offered full support and endorsement of the government and the bold policy measures needed.
Policy Objectives: The overall goal of the policy is to construct a strategy to accelerate growth and social development in Guyana. The specific objectives include:
The development if ICT is therefore a commitment that the Government takes very seriously and we welcome the support of the Private sector and more so initiatives such as this venture that we are witnessing now. I urge you to be fair in your reporting and keep the website updated. Too many times we can go on a website and it is like going to the doctor and sitting in the waiting room and reading something that was published a long time ago. That defeats the purpose of having an online magazine.
I would like to commend you and your team on venturing on such a innovative task and hope that it will be successful and grow into such an important site and it will be the home page of many internet users.
Thank you and good luck.
