Role of GMC diminishing – President Granger

With farmers now finding local markets for their products themselves, President David Granger is of the view that the role of the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) is diminishing.

He explained to reporters on the weekly televised programme – The Public Interest – that when the GMC was first conceived, it was essentially tasked with bridging the gap between market and the producer/farmer. However, that policy has since changed and farmers are now locating and are in contact with the markets themselves.

“So the intermediate role of the Guyana Marketing Corporation was diminished and now it depends on the farmers as private entrepreneurs to go to the market directly,” the President stated as he expressed disappointment at the insignificance being given the corporation now.

Nevertheless, the Head of State went on to say that it is encouraging that farmers and producers are making contact with markets directly, especially those going to the outlets, like the fish shops, to sell sweet potato, plantain and cassava chips directly to local enterprises.

He stated that the Administration is willing to help farmers who want to take a step further and export their produce. The President noted that government wants to work with farmers so that they can access markets in Trinidad, Barbados, Grenada and other parts of the Eastern Caribbean through the Caribbean Single Market and Economy (CSME).

“So it is a new area in the sense that the old formula, the old model, had been abandoned and we now have to re-establish ties with our farmers but the farmers have to produce first, we can’t have a market with no production and that’s what we trying to stimulate. We are trying to stimulate production at village level and once that happens, we will be able to assist them in getting markets in the Eastern Caribbean,” the Head of State noted.

He added that this is a work in progress and that Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder is exploring ways this can be implemented.

However, the President outlined that several bonds were constructed countrywide for farmers to store and packaged their produce for exportation, noting that they are being very underutilised.

He specifically mentioned the agro-packaging and export facility located at Parika, East Bank Essequibo, which he told farmers in the area to make full use of, “we have not abandoned the farmers and I told farmers at Parika to start using the facility there more than it is being used at present,” he disclosed while adding that government is willing to set up more storage facilities in other regions, particularly in the hinterland where farmers there have problems with getting their produce to markets.

The facility at Parika was commissioned since 2008 as part of the Ministry of Agriculture’s ‘Grow More Food’ campaign under the People’s Progressive Party/Civic regime. It was said to have the capacity to prepare and package an estimated 40,000 pounds of produce for export in a 24-hour period.

It has serviced very few exporters and/or farmers to date.

Furthermore, the pack house is open to exporters only and an export permit from the GMC is required before the facility can be accessed. (Vahnu Manickchand)