Georgetown : Sustainable agriculture research is critical to the development of the agriculture sector, and Minister of Agriculture, Dr Leslie Ramsammy called on the developed and developing countries to invest more in this regard.
Minister Ramsammy was at the time speaking at the Agriculture Ministry’s annual Research Conference at the Guyana International Conference Centre (GICC) under the theme “Consolidating Food and Nutrition Security in the Region-Increasing Economic Opportunities and Entrepreneurship for Rice and other Agriculture.” This three-day conference is aimed at highlighting the importance of research in the area of rice and other agriculture products.
Minister Ramsammy noted that this event starts yet another tradition in Guyana- research in agriculture, and underlines the Ministry’s commitment in this regard.
Minister Ramsammy added that the productivity that is seen today would not have been achieved without research, and Guyana’s goal of feeding the world, creating a food secure and a nutrition secure world will not be achieved.
“Any Government that neglects research does so at its own risk. The post-2015 sustainable development agenda will not serve our global interest unless we recognise that research is very much a part of that development agenda,” Minister Ramsammy said.
Rice is the third most prevalent crop in the world, and because of research, this crop has developed to where it can be able to feed most of the people in the world.
Minister Ramsammy said that the Indian rice varieties cannot be ignored, noting that they have transformed the world’s production of the grain, and is a good example of how research can increase production and efficiency in agriculture.
The Agriculture Minister emphasised that even as there are talks about producing Guyana’s own food, the energy equation must be looked at so as to establish where the energy would come from, at what cost and how it would affect the environment. “These are answers that must come from research, and that is why countries need to invest,” he added.
For every one dollar spent on global research in agriculture; thousands of dollars are spent in other types of research.
“We have not invested enough in agriculture, it is our collective failure… some one trillion dollars is spent in research overall and yet without agriculture there is not a world. There is no other way of feeding people and establishing the basis for nutritious food in the world, there is no life without agriculture,” Minister Ramsammy further explained.
Speaking on climate and its effects on the sector, Minister Ramsammy noted that the agriculture sector is the most affected by this issue, and research can also be done in this regard. He said the production of greenhouse gases is another area that agriculture research can resolve.
Agriculture has led Guyana to a sustainable development path, and it continues to be an important contributor to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP), employment generation, foreign exchange earnings and rural development.
He added that in Guyana, five percent of the National Budget is dedicated to those areas of training and research. Building capacity at the University of Guyana and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) and Technical Institutes, enhancing Agriculture Science in Secondary schools, engaging young people in the sector are just a few of the aspects Government has been investing in. This is not enough, he said, but for a developing country it is impressive.
Speaking of the role small farmers has been playing in the development of agriculture, Minister Ramsammy further called on the world to pay attention to that fact that farmers in countries like Guyana are disadvantaged by a global legal framework that keeps developed countries’ farmers on the top of its ladder and bind farmers from developing countries to stay at the bottom. Research however can change that dispensation, he said.
Meanwhile, Dr. Vyjayanthi Lopez, Plant Production and Protection Officer, Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), congratulated the Government of Guyana for organising such an event.
With a food import bill of over US$4 billion per annum and the rising level of obesity and Chronic Non-Communicable disease (NCDs) in the Caribbean, Dr. Lopez said the subject of food and nutrition security should be on the agenda of policy makers, producers and consumers.
She urged the participants to take full advantage of the conference to improve their knowledge so as to increase productivity.
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