Agriculture Minister working to lift US ban on catfish

…Guyana ready to resume agricultural role in Caricom, FAO

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha has indicated his commitment towards lifting the US-imposed catfish ban, which was instituted against Guyana in early 2018 under the Granger-led Administration.

He shared this position on Wednesday after meeting with Country Representative of the Food and Agriculture Organisation in the United Nations (FAO), Dr Gillian Smith.
The newly-appointed Minister disclosed that Guyana is ready to resume its leadership role in the Caribbean Community with regards to agriculture, after sharing some immediate plans for the sector and ways in which the Ministry can collaborate with the FAO.
Guyana was once regarded as the breadbasket of the Caribbean and it will be working to regain that status.
“I am very eager to have close collaborations with the FAO to strengthen existing and develop new policies to improve the sector. I am looking forward to working with the organisation and having it play a pivotal role in having these objectives achieved,” Mustapha said.
Minister Mustapha also assured that the FAO will also be invited to play an active role on the Guyana Livestock Development Authority’s Board and the Fisheries Advisory Committee. For now, lifting the catfish ban is paramount after witnessing the suffering of fishermen.
“By legislation, the FAO is supposed to be on that Board (GLDA)…As a matter of fact, agriculture and the fisheries sector will be collaborating closely with the FAO because we need to work together to ensure we improve our systems in the fisheries sector. One of my main objectives is to get the ban lifted from the exportation of catfish to the United States. Our fisherfolks have been suffering a lot. So, we are working assiduously to have that problem rectified,” Mustapha noted.
The ban by the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) was instituted against Guyana in 2018. According to the regulations, Guyana must be able to catch catfish and transport it to a processing plant while it is alive. This is in contradiction to what is being practiced here, whereby the fish is caught, disembowelled and the carcass is iced until it reaches the shore.
Over two years had elapsed under the coalition Administration and the situation remained unfixed. In one interview, former subject Minister, Noel Holder had blamed “bureaucratic movements” creating a delay. Nevertheless, over one year had passed thereafter without any word.
In this time, the fisherfolks have lost a viable income-earning stream and have been facing financial constraints.

Surinamese licensing
Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha also indicated that Government is currently engaging the Surinamese Government as it relates to licensing of fisherfolk from the Corentyne area.
The Ministry will also be putting systems in place to improve the aquaculture system in Guyana, noting the lack of an organised means of operating. Farmers will now be given guidance and much-needed extension services in order to develop the country’s aquaculture systems.
Over the years, the FAO has assisted Guyana with four priority areas, namely: Food security and nutrition; Agricultural and rural development, Renewable natural resources and climate change, Agricultural health and food safety.
From August 18 to 21, the FAO Regional Conference for Latin America and the Caribbean will be held virtually and Guyana is scheduled to participate.
Dr Smith noted that this platform is the organisation’s highest decision-making body, with Agriculture Ministers from all 33 Member States of the FAO meeting to discuss policies and developmental areas for agriculture across the region.
“Traditionally, in the past, Guyana has had a very significant leadership role in agriculture in Caricom. When Guyana goes to the FAO Regional Conference, it usually goes in a leadership role. It provides that sort of convening and facilitating for the rest of agriculture and it would be good to be able to see that again because, at this conference, FAO makes its decisions about how support is given to the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean going forward for the next few years,” the representative expressed.
She further stated that it is important for Guyana to be prepared to put its needs on the table, particularly in this post-COVID-19 era. According to her, if Guyana is not prepared, it can miss opportunities to garner support.