Former head of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Jagnarine Singh, has been appointed the new acting Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).
On Wednesday, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha officially met with senior staff of the agency and Singh to discuss how the agency is expected to implement the new policies set by the Government in an effort to reposition and revamp agriculture in Guyana.
New acting CEO of NAREI, Jagnarine Singh
Mustapha told the staff that with Guyana retaking its rightful place with agriculture in the Caribbean, NAREI has an important role to play, as the agency is mandated to manage agriculture research and development.
“We are looking to revamp the agriculture sector. If we want to take our rightful place regionally and internationally, institutions like NAREI have to play a very important role. We now have to strategize; we have to come up with innovative ideas, and we have to implement the policies of the Government. What we have done, as a Government, we’ve crafted a number of policies for the various sectors. Last year we had the emergency budget, and we were able to successfully implement a number of those initiatives.
This year the goal is to build on what we started last year, in addition to the new programmes that will come on stream.
“We have to change the traditional way we have been doing things here. For example, our plant nurseries around the country, we need to have vibrant nurseries with a variety of plants. When people visit these nurseries, they must have a choice,” Mustapha is quoted in a statement from the Ministry as saying.
He said the Ministry must also refocus its energy on revamping the sector.
Meanwhile, the new acting CEO said there needs to be some amount of improvement to the services offered to farmers. He also said that Science must be incorporated into the extension services offered to the farmers.
“…Guyana, a big agriculture-producing country, we need to enhance and improve our services to the farmers. Not just soils, but our technical and diagnostic capacity in all areas of plant science. With the extension services, as much as I see, it’s being driven on social media; I would want some science involved. The scientists must be involved. Whatever we are doing must be climate smart, it must be sustainable and profitable so that our farmers can live a good life.
“The little plots we have around the country, I want to see them grow and move from just trials to a more economic value to the individual, the community and to the country as a whole,” Singh said.
Additionally, Mustapha also charged the new head with implementing quarterly training exercises for extension officers, in order to keep them abreast with developments in the sector, so that they can be better equipped to deliver the kind of services required.
Singh takes over from Dr Oudho Homenauth, who was employed by the agency for the past 20 years. Minister Mustapha said that even though Dr Homenauth will no longer serve in the capacity of CEO, his contribution to the development of the sector and the institution over the years remains invaluable.
