Georgetown : Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said that the agriculture sector will continue to dominate the local economy in the future even with the prospects of vibrant oil industry. He was at the time speaking at the launch of Agriculture Month 2014.
October Agriculture Month is being observed and this year theme is, “Enhancing agriculture through family farming and the use of sustainable technologies.”
Minister Ramsammy said that while October is the month in which every aspect of the sector is highlighted including the achievements of farmers, everyday in Guyana is considered agriculture day.
This year’s theme specifically speaks to farming at the household level. During the month of October, the Ministry will be spearheading activities in all of the 10 administrative regions that will serve as a demonstration as to how family farming has been sustained and expanded over the years.
Countries that depend largely on agriculture are now faced with the challenge of reconfiguring the sector and incorporating more science and technology, which has penetrated almost every facet of human life, from the food that is consumed to the way it’s produced.
In this regard, during Agriculture Month focus will also be placed on how technology is increasingly being used to promote greater productivity in agriculture.
Minister Ramsammy said that at present, more land is under cultivation than at any other time in the sector’s history and this is largely due to the incorporation of science and technology.
“Whether it is rice or new crops such as carrots, beets, cauliflower and broccoli, Guyana continues to improve in terms of yield; whether it is large scale agricultural initiatives or at the level of the family, agriculture has benefitted enormously from science and technology,” the Agriculture Minister remarked.
Science and technology has also given a tremendous boost to the livestock industry; allowing it to realise new and better breeds of animals, production of more meat and milk and essentially enabled the agriculture sector to be more resilient in the face of diseases and other unfavourable conditions.
“Everyday in Guyana, we are moving in the direction of increased science and technology in agriculture. Traditionally, science and technology were only being used by big, industrialised-type farming operations within the sector, but today it is being used in family farms,” Minister Ramsammy said.
As the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) continue to promote family farming at the global level, the Minister said that Guyana is playing a pioneering role; whereby the focus is not only on feeding families, but also on the contribution of national yield and productivity through the use of science and technology.
“Today we have a number of varieties of various crops such as rice, cassava, corn…we have our cattle breeds in Guyana for the production of beef, small ruminant meat, poultry,” he said.
The Ministry is in the process of activating even further transformation in the diary industry; in fact, Minister Ramsammy said that Agriculture Month 2014 targets this industry.
During Agriculture Month, renewed focus will be placed on the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign which began in 2008, with the addition of a new layer entitled ‘Eat What We Produce’.
This campaign calls on Guyanese across the length and breadth of the country to make maximum use of foods that are produced locally and to focus on healthier and more wholesome diets.
“We cannot say that by the end of October 2014 we will be able to say that 100 percent on what is on the plate is produced in Guyana, but we are hoping that we get near to that…the goal is to ensure that as much as possible, what we have on our plates is produced locally,” Minister Ramsammy said.
