–several CARICOM heads, Republic Bank, IDB already on board
WHILE lauding several CARICOM heads, Republic Bank, the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) and the diplomatic community for backing Guyana’s upcoming Agriculture Investment Forum, President Dr. Irfaan Ali is urging others to come onboard as part of efforts to reduce the region’s food import bill, and boost food security.
President Ali issued this call at Friday’s launch of the May 19-21 event. During the launch, which has held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), it was disclosed that the current Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) John Antonio Briceño of Belize; Barbados’ Prime Minister Mia Mottley; and Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines Dr. Ralph Gonsalves have all indicated their intention of supporting the upcoming event.
The event is being held in support of CARICOM’s ‘25 by 2025’ initiative, which aims to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent in 2025, and improve the region’s productivity and resilience in the agriculture sector.
While delivering the feature address, President Ali stated that reducing the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025 is a complex and multi-faceted task which will require much-needed support.
While welcoming the support of Republic Bank and a commitment from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), he urged other financial institutions in the region to join the movement.
In disclosing that Guyana also has the commitment of the diplomatic community, he singled out the Canadian High Commission and the European Union for offering technical support.
President Ali noted further that food security is not just about producing food in the region, but also about financing and many other elements such as technology, partnerships, job creation and shared responsibility among other stakeholders.
Also making remarks was Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who said that the forum will be divided into a number of segments to represent the various stages in the value-food chain such as primary production, agro-processing logistics, and infrastructure development among others.
He said that the forum will provide great opportunities for interaction among attendees, and is expected to facilitate the matching of bankable projects and prospective investors.
“It is the intent that this be a great push to cross-border investment with CARICOM member states for investment to stimulate agriculture diversification and increased production,” the agriculture minister said.
Meanwhile, in a pre-recorded message, Dr. Gonsalves said his country will be represented at the event, and that he is hoping that all stakeholders come onboard to further build the region’s agriculture sector.
“More than ever, we have to build agriculture and feed ourselves in this region, and President Irfaan Ali has a plan, and we need to interrogate that plan. And it also requires investments, not only from the states, but also the private sector from the region and globally,” Dr. Gonsalves said.
PM Mottley, who joined the launch virtually, urged others to support the initiative, saying:
“We believe then that it was possible for us to reduce our import bill for food by 25 per cent, and we needed to put things in place… I want to urge all of us that we didn’t know then; we know now… that we would face, regrettably, a threat to food security.”
PM Briceño, in his pre-recorded message, said that the upcoming event holds a special significance within the community, as it speaks to the fundamental priority shared by the various states and stakeholders to collaborate.
He said: “CARICOM governments are cognisant of the interdependence of the relationship of the private sector and the public sector, and how in conjunction these different parties can work together to an outcome that is beneficial to the most important assets, the people of the Caribbean.”
Briceño added that the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic have now highlighted the urgency for action to be taken as it relates to the region’s agriculture agenda.
