Georgetown: The Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) today hosted the first Agriculture Month 2014 activity focusing on the “Promotion of Youths in Agriculture” with the aim of not only creating job opportunities for young people but to further expand the industry.
Youths play an integral role in the development of any country and cognizant of the fact much emphasis continues to be placed on areas youths can further excel, especially in Agriculture.
Agriculture Minister Hon Dr. Leslie Ramsammy in delivering the feature address to the gathering acknowledged the significance of Family Farming which is linked to several areas of rural development.
In Guyana, Family Farming is nothing new as 90 percent of farms are operated by a family and predominantly reliant on family labour from both male and female.
“This year we aim to raise the profile on family farming and the role of small farmers as they have been playing a significant role in the development of Agriculture in Guyana and for Agriculture Month 2014 we will celebrate their accomplishments,” the Agriculture Minister said.
Minister Ramsammy stated that while Family Farming continues to be the foundation on which agriculture is built in Guyana, much emphasis must be placed on the work of the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
“As a colonial country prior to 1966 the family rice farms was intended to feed our people. Today this has led to the transformation of the industry that in 2014 will surpass 600,000 tonnes of rice and close to 1,000,000 tonnes of paddy being produced,” he said.
Export production
Through much investment and the dedication of farmers Guyana is firmly set to export this year in excess of 500,000 tonnes of rice.
This would not have been achieved, according to the Agriculture Minister without the role of farmers.
“In the rice industry alone small farmers invested more than $30B while Cash Crop and Artisanal Fishermen invested $10B each in 2014 and this is due to them seeing the profitability the sector has, ” he said.
The Agriculture Minister noted that while much has been achieved and the sector continues on an upward spiral, Government will continue to support small farmers.
Growth of Agriculture
Agriculture continues to be a major contributor to Guyana’s GDP and according to the Agriculture Minister the Ministry will continue to celebrate the achievement and work of farmers.
While the Government reaffirms that the sector is a vehicle for sustainable growth and Guyanese should take pride of its many achievements over the years which has positioned Guyana to be an important exporter of food to the Caribbean.
During Agriculture a number of events will be held bringing the spotlight not only on the achievements of the sector but the importance farmers continues to play to ensure is sustenance.
Agriculture Month 2014 is being held under the theme, “Enhancing Agriculture through Family Farming and the use of Sustainable Technologies”.
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