Georgetown: Guyana was once considered the bread basket of the Caribbean and as the country aims to reclaim its title, the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is working to ensure when it reaches that stage, there are no obstacles.
Brain Sears, Chief Plant Protection Officer of the National Plant Protection Organization (NPPO) said that the government has already placed much emphasis on assisting farmers in pushing agriculture forward and in diversifying their produces.
Also, NAREI has been working with a number of agencies and farmers, in its attempt to enhance diversification—and, in the same breath, the NPPO is looking at methods to contain, control or eradicate pest.
On Monday, staffers from NPPO participated in a Regional Pest Prioritization and Pest Risk Analysis Training hosted by the Caribbean Agricultural Health and Food Safety Agency (CAHFSA) at NAREI’s Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara (ECD)’s head office. It will conclude today.
The staffers will be trained in the use of the National Pest Prioritization Tool and the Principles and Procedures for Pest Risk Analysis. The five-day session will be delivered by Juliet Goldsmith, Plant Health Specialist of CAHFSA and Dr. Govind Seepersad, Agricultural Economist, University of the West Indies.
Mr. Sears pointed out, “The workshop will go a long way in enhancing our ability to export and may even assist in the speeding up the exportation process especially when we take into consideration the number of request that we get for our local produces for export and request for information to conduct pest risk analysis for importation an area in which I know we are limited.”
These training sessions are also being done in Antigua, Cayman Island, Dominica, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, Suriname, Trinidad and Turks and Caicos.
To detect pest in the United States, the Department of Agriculture (USDA), Plant Protection and Quarantine (PPA) developed the New Pest response Guidelines (NPRG) which will be used in the training sessions to enhance Guyana’s pest prioritization capabilities for early pest detection and for the implementation of rapid response for pest control.
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