Department of Tourism to host Guyana Coconut Festival

BY: Indrawattie Natram

The coconut industry that has been left behind for quite some time will be under the spotlight in October as the Department of Tourism in the Ministry of Business in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and private stakeholders will be hosting a Coconut Awareness Week during 15 to 23 October, 2016 with a wide range of events.
The Week’s events will highlight the importance of coconut and its uses. According to Director General of Tourism Donald Sinclair a River Appreciation Day and Speed Boat parade along with a Ministry of Agriculture outreach will start the activities.
The activities include a coconut awareness launch of festival icon, motorcade to Mahaicony ground for World Food Day observance, Launch of Festival Souvenir magazine, Ministry of Agriculture Coconut cook out, State of the Coconut Industry forum, and launch of National Coconut Development Roadmap.
A coconut summit and Business meetings is schedule for October 21 at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre, and on October 22 the festival continues with a coco splash entertainment sequence.
The week will conclude with a coconut award ceremony on October, 23.
At a stakeholders meeting, Sinclair said that farmers from Pomeroon will be actively involved and that Essequibo is an important Region to start off the week’s activities, since Pomeroon is the “Heart of the Coconut”.
During his address he said that the industry has been out of attention for a while and it is time for farmers, living in the Pomeroon, to be equipped with the necessary knowledge about the fruit and its many uses.
At the meeting, Chairman of the Essequibo Chambers of Commerce, Dalip Singh, and Region Two Chairman Devanand Ramdatt pledged the Region’s support towards the Week’s events. The boat parade will put Essequibo on the map in terms of Tourism, he noted.
For the activities, nations such as Suriname, Brazil, India and Mexico have indicated their interest in participating. The Week of activities also coincides with Agriculture Month. The events are to be hosted by the Ministry of Agriculture Maritime Authority, and the Guyana Police Force.