to say Guyana has an agricultural policy under the ppp is to tell a gigantic lie. we’ve slid so far back in agriculture, in some respects we’re back to the 1800’s in some regards. see cane and Guysuco.
the ppp in it’s quest to rewrite the history of Guyana presents new facts and discoveries daily. for example we learned a few weeks ago from the minister of agriculture that we are now going to embark on a black eye growing program because we are now importing too much black eye and corn from belize. of course the minister failed to explain that at one time Guyana EXPORTED black eye peas. but that was under Burnham and the PNC so it’s not to be mentioned. the PPP is embarking on a 5 year black eye growing plan, follow the story line and dance to the music.
ask no questions.
Guyana no longer makes cheese, butter or pasterursied milk and is incapable of exporting beef due to poor sanitation. yet the ministry of agriculture boasts of a dairy industry. (10 oct 2014 : correction there is a company that makes butter! )
Guyana does not make ham, bacon or any other pork products but we have a massive pig rearing roll out.
we import coconut water, mango and orange juice. get the picture?
well lo and behold today in the Guyana Chronic the editorial [see snippets below] is about growing potatoes! well what would you know, at one time Guyana was also growing potatoes. but that was under Forbes Burnham and the PNC too so it shall not be mentioned!
GROWING POTATOES
…
According to Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy, Guyana is on track to develop a successful potato industry and the need to import this commodity should be eliminated within the next five years. [key words here being on track, however there is no evidence to support this track]
This is welcome news as it would save our country a tremendous amount of foreign exchange which could be channelled into other areas. [where have you heard of this before? and who was vociferous in condemning this? the same jokers selling it now. but will the sheeple buy it?]
…
“I believe that Guyana could use its foreign currency reserves in a better way than to import food that we could either grow here or produce here or that we could do without,” he said. [oh really?!! to the future in reverse]
[let’s now demonise the same policy we’re copying. typical ppp modus operandi] The minister is correct, as there is no reason why we should be importing food that could be grown here.
Many years ago, a previous government embarked on a so-called import substitute policy, banning a myriad of imported foodstuff under the guise of stimulating local production of food and utilising local substitutes. Unfortunately, the result was disastrous as we experienced a terrible food shortage, the worst in our country’s history. [under the guise, uh huh]
This outcome was obvious because while the intention behind the import substitute policy was good, its implementation was miserable. In order to successfully implement policy, the groundwork and foundation have to be laid. In this regard, it should have been ensured that measures were in place to produce local substitutes in adequate quantities at an affordable price for the populace. Unfortunately, this was not the case and the result was an acute food shortage. {we not got the measures, groundwork and foundation in place is the message]
Of course it is suspected that the import substitute policy had to do more with latent political and economic reasons than with stimulating agriculture. [take roti and dhal out of indian people mouth. they really believe this still]
For one, the economy was in such a bad shape that foreign exchange was unavailable to import food. [bank of Guyana rarely has foreign exchange for large sale buying now. but ignore that]
The manner in which phasing out importation of some food is being pursued now is the way to go. That is, we begin producing them in commercial quantities first, and then stop their importation. This is a logical and sensible approach. [cause we’re so logical and sensible unlike you know who]
With respect to potatoes, because of their versatility, it is a staple not only for Guyanese but in the rest of the Region and farther afield. Therefore, to deprive people of potatoes would be nothing less than stupidity. [keep importing it’s good for the economy]
What is clear is that potatoes could be grown in Guyana but the parts of Guyana, like Regions 7 & 8, where it could be grown on a commercial basis are landlocked and therefore transportation is the decisive factor. {who destroyed the transportation services to these regions? who destroyed the national airlines? the ppp that’s who]
Developing adequate road networks in these regions may take a while so producing potatoes on a commercial basis there may have to be put on hold. However, it is also possible to grow potatoes on a commercial basis on the coastland and this is where our trump card lies. In this regard, the Ministry of Agriculture will now be cultivating potatoes on one-acre plots of land in Regions 2, 3, 4 and 6 and if this is successful, Dr Ramsammy said the ministry will then move to the next step to produce the commodity on a larger scale for commercial purposes, which will contribute to the reduction of the food import bill. [so we will or we wont grow potatoes in commercial quantities? region 7 and 8 is ideal but trumpcard is on the coast which just happens to be below sea the rising sea]
“It will take years [so it’s no longer a 5 yr plan?] before we can eliminate import, but we believe that we can now produce potato that is of comparable quality to the imported potato,” he stated.
He related that while potatoes will be cultivated on land owned by the Ministry, private farmers can also do so with supervision from the Agriculture Ministry. He further advised that one of the requirements for growing potatoes on the coast is good irrigation, and for this, new techniques such as drip irrigation and shade technology have to be implemented.
But apart from reducing our food import bill, growing potatoes here has the potential of being another export food item as it is not grown in the Caribbean region. So if cultivation is successful, we would have another potential foreign exchange earner. [IF! so there you have it. IF! but what makes these jokers think they will develop a new crop into a foreign exchange earner when the crops we have now earn little to no foreign exchange? think amongst y’selves]
Related articles
- more evidence Guyana govt is backwards – we import corn & black eye peas (jacobsfotos.wordpress.com)
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