The agriculture ministry on Tuesday handed over a number of fruit trees and vegetable seeds to the Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Guyana (FITUG) to enlist them in encouraging the public to ‘Grow more’.
A Government Informa-tion Agency (GINA) press release said Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud met with FITUG President Carvil Duncan to discuss the rising food prices and to collaborate on producing more food. Persaud said “We have met with the private sector and we are engaging a number of representative groups and trying to get sections of society involved in the grow more campaign.” He said this approach is not only directed at farmers and potential producers but working with the representative organizations and the trade unions in mobilizing and organizing their members to get involved. The minister said “We see the trade union as a partner in this effort not only to distribute the seed material but also in organizing workers either into farmers groups, farmers associations and also organizing and encouraging workers to buy in large quantities through the trade union bodies.”
According to GINA, Duncan said some persons are blaming the administration for not doing anything and there are others who believe that the food shortage is a Guyana scenario.
However, he said, FITUG sees that the situation will affect the working people and is already making preparations to deal with the rise in food prices by purchasing supplies in bulk for its membership.
