Botanical Gardens to be modified – Granger

President David Granger on Friday told residents of Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne) that the Botanical Gardens will be modified to contain varieties of every tree found anywhere in Guyana.
According to the Public Information and Press Service Unit within the Ministry of the Presidency, the President said, “I am going to change the National Botanical Gardens. That Botanical Gardens must be the home of a specimen of every tree in Guyana. It must obtain, it must contain, it must maintain several specimens of all species of trees in Guyana. Children must be able to go and see what a greenheart tree is, what a crabwood tree is, what a purpleheart tree is…not just mango and guava [trees]. They have a thousand species of trees to learn about.”
The ministry’s media unit reported that Granger who was at this year’s National Tree Planting Day held at Union Village (No. 53), said “the Botanical Gardens must become a schoolhouse for our children to learn the wonders of Guyana’s trees.”
Meanwhile, the President noted that Guyana will commemorate the 50th anniversary of its Republican status next year, which will coincide with petroleum development and the launch a Decade of Development: 2020-2029.
The ‘Decade’ is aimed at ensuring that every section, sector and segment of our society will benefit from economic development. The President said objectives of the Decade of Development are aligned to the Green State Development Strategy (GSDS): Vision 2040.
The President assured that agriculture will not be neglected during the ‘Decade’ and that food products, not petroleum, will remain a mainstay of the economy.
“Agro-processing will intensify during the ‘Decade’. Guyana’s petroleum revenues, inter alia, will be deployed to modernize the agricultural sector, including by adding value to primary, locally-produced fruits and vegetables, in accordance with the ‘Strategy’,” Granger said.
Further, he added that investment is the muscle of production and Government, notwithstanding the advances made over the past four years, recognizes the need to catalyse the agro-industrial sector.
“It will offer fiscal incentives for investors interested in promoting export-oriented agro-processing,” he said.
Granger iterated that trees are essential to developing the agro-industrial sector. He reminded that the East Berbice-Corentyne has the land, the expertise and the experience to accelerate the development of tree-based, agro-processing which can provide economic and environmental benefits.
The President said the agro-processing of fruits will allow everyone to benefit from trees without having to cut them down, adding that the Regions should encourage the generation of gardens, greenhouses and orchards to grow more trees.
Agro-processing is a key element of Guyana’s Green State Development Strategy: Vision 2040. The ‘Strategy’ is Guyana’s roadmap towards becoming a ‘green’ state and one which emphasizes the commodification of agricultural productio