| As the Ministry of Agriculture pursues the phasing out of bottom-house agro-processing, subject Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy has announced that the Guyana Shop will not buy from unlicensed operators.The Minister said that this is to ensure that more agro-processors get their facilities on par with what is required by international buyers.Local entities display some byproducts of pineapple during the most recent exposition.Dr. Ramsammy explained that getting licensed will prove beneficial in many ways, noting that once licensed, local agro-processors will be afforded the opportunity of showcasing their produce during one of the monthly exhibitions held on the lawns of the Guyana Shop.“So there are dual functions for holding the exhibitions,” the Minister emphasized.He added that in addition to promoting local produce, its many fascinating byproducts, and the makers of them, the exhibitions are held to show members of the public how much the local quality and standards of the packaging and labeling industry have improved over time. The most recent such activity was a pineapple exposition.The Guyana Shop falls under the purview of the Guyana Marketing Corporation, and sells strictly locally produced items,Wholesale Jerseys Store, while extensively promoting local agro-processors.Meanwhile, Dr. Ramsammy has acknowledged that while the quality and taste of locally made products are on par and in some cases better than those from other countries, the not-so-advanced packaging and labeling of these are hindrances on the market.“People would look at the package that is more attractive, and buy that, so this is where Guyana is at a disadvantage,” Dr. Ramsammy said, stressing that “our product itself is as good as anything you will get anywhere else.”In speaking with this publication on the sanitary conditions of bottom-house agro-processing, representative of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Wilmot Garnett said that in agriculture, IICA works with ‘Agriculture Health and Food Safety’ to ensure that the local products are “export ready.”Earlier this year, Dr. Maxine Parris-Aaron, Agricultural Health and Food Safety Specialist of IICA, had stressed that packaging and labeling- sometimes the major attractions for a product- remain a challenge for local agro-processors, who have to compete with similar products produced overseas that are on the local shelves.The specialist emphasized the need for Guyanese to buy local in order to boost the agro-processing industry. She pointed out that for instance, in Jamaica, there are overseas products on the local market but Jamaicans support their own.Dr. Parris-Aaron noted too that in addition to packaging and labeling, agro-processing facilities in Guyana’s rural areas need upgrading.She believes continuous training and providing relevant material of what is happening regionally and internationally to agro-processors in far-flung communities, could improve their standards and products.Nonetheless, Wilmot Garnett reiterated that his entity remains committed to the Ministry of Agriculture and its partners in development, to continue modernization of the agriculture sector in Guyana.Garnett said that next year will see IICA concentrating on addressing the issue of production cost with focus on the ground level.“We will work with the farmers, being very clear and letting them know the details that they can consider so as to make a profit,” he said. |
