November 4 2019
President David Granger is assuring Guyana that agriculture will remain the primary focus of the countrys economy, despite the emergence of the lucrative oil industry.
Appearing as a guest on Kaieteur Radio last Friday, Granger was asked, “Where do you see agriculture in the entire scheme of things in the oil and gas economy?”
The President responded that oil cannot be depended on to provide the food needed to feed the nation. “You cant drink oil; you have to eat food.” Agriculture, he ensured, has always been and will remain the mainstay of the countrys economy.
Granger noted that Guyanese may fear that Government would merely concentrate on the petroleum industry, to the exclusion of others.On this regard, he pointed out that the petroleum industry does not employ many people.“Guyanese would be well advised to go into producing food,” the Head of State said.“Food is essential on a daily basis and our trust will be to continue food production. I would like to encourage more Agro-business, in which people process the foods and not allow the foods to spoil.” He noted that solar energy can be used to provide the electricity for agro-processing. In Indigenous communities, he added, this initiative has been executed.
In terms of upward mobility in the Agricultural Sector, the President encouraged that Guyanese have to manufacture more and the exports need to be increased.
“You would have great faith and great hope in the ability of this country to be a zone of major agricultural processing and exportation. And the Caribbean Community is hungry for the foods that we could produce… Any fruit, any vegetable, any animal product, I am confident that we can market in the Eastern Caribbean. We have to learn more about packaging. We have to learn more about exploiting those markets in the Caribbean.”
He also expressed that he hopes the business community puts more investment and infrastructure into manufacturing.The Head of State indicated that the governments Decade of Development Plan, which is intended to begin from 2020 was established to put oil revenue into “certain directions”. He expressed optimism that this plan will have positive benefits for Guyana.With respect to agriculture, he pointed out that this significant sector has been catered for explicitly in the plan.