Regional Agri Ministers discuss ways to strengthen agricultural integration

Agriculture Ministers from across the Region met the Director General of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA) to discuss strengthening ties and improving regional agricultural collaboration.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Agriculture Ministry said one of the most notable areas highlighted was the need for intensified collaboration among sister states to increase regional import and export of crops and other agricultural commodities.
Additionally, the Ministers discussed knowledge-sharing to strengthen their marine management systems.
During their discussion, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha spoke about Government’s vision as it relates to marketing and developing Guyana’s agro-processing industry, and the role IICA is expected to play in offering support in that process.
The Minister said the participants were cognisant of IICA’s role in trade, and were seeking its assistance to accelerate a shift towards becoming a more market-led agri-food sector. To that end, he called on IICA for assistance in the provision of technology and technical knowledge in the agro-processing industry, specifically in processing; to facilitate training and development for food safety and good manufacturing practices for agro-processors; and assistance with marketing, more specifically social media marketing in terms of assisting with the participation of trade shows and exhibitions locally, regionally and extra-regionally.
Minister Mustapha also mentioned that, through support from IICA, Guyana was able to commence its Dairy Value Chain Study.
“This is fundamental as we develop this industry to reduce the importation of dairy and dairy by-products,” he said.
IICA’s Director General, Manuel Otero, said agricultural development in the Americas has to be specially focused on the more vulnerable regions, like South America and the Caribbean.
“Although I’m not an expert on Caribbean agricultural matters, my attention is concentrated on two issues. The first is related to the urgent need to reduce the food import bill, with emphasis on promoting sustainable food and nutrition security. The other is in relation to climate change, recognising the importance of putting into practice more resilient agricultural practices. For this reason, we have an infrastructure represented by national offices in fourteen CARICOM States,” Otero said.
The participating Ministers of Agriculture also lobbied for greater collaboration in greenhouse production and knowledge-sharing as it relates to the coconut value chain.
Over the years, IICA’s partnership with Guyana has birthed many developmental achievements in the agriculture sector. Some of these include the support for projects which helped Guyana improve the productivity and competitiveness of the agricultural sector; the strengthening of agriculture’s contribution to the development of rural areas and the well-being of the rural population; and the improvement of agricultural capacity to mitigate and adapt to climate change and make better use of natural resources.