By Pushpa Balgobin
in Paramaribo, Suriname
Much more has to be done to catapult exports of fresh produce from Guyana into the region, according to an agribusiness specialist.
Robert Reid, Regional Agribusiness Specialist in the Inter-American Insti-tute on Cooperation for Agriculture told Stabroek News that Guyana will face challenges, but overall has been doing well in farming innovations.
Speaking to Stabroek News at the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA) in Paramaribo, Suriname, Reid said that Guyana’s challenges in terms of the value chain and getting fresh produce circulating in the region continues to affect export potential.
Reid stated that “much more has to be done in terms of Guyana’s exports of fresh produce into the region, the challenge there being the transport link.”
He said that the comprehensive policy that was being discussed during the CWA hosted in part by the Caribbean Research Development Institute (CARDI) and the Technical Centre for Agriculture and Rural Co-operation (CTA), needed to be formalized in cooperation with the Caribbean Farmers Network (CaFAN).
Reid told Stabroek News that identifying the challenges was key this year so the framework can be implemented as quickly as possible.
He noted that at the end of the two days, dealing directly with the value chain, farmers and policy makers would arrive at recommendations with export capabilities being identified and realized.
This year CARDI/CTA assisted with bringing a number of farmers from the Caribbean Farmers Network to attend the CWA.
He said that the CWA being held in Suriname this year was focused on “getting away from this rhetoric of the value chain” and instead comprehensive reform on the ground. Reid said that “by next year we should be in the position to say that we are working with ‘x’ number of producer organizations, in ‘x’ ‘y ‘number of countries to improve commodity links to ‘z’ number of buyers.”
“We might not achieve much results next year, but by the end of the year after that we should be saying that we have been able to move so much tons of produce,” Reid said. He told Stabroek News that currently all Cariforum (Caricom plus the Dominican Republic) countries are involved in interagency projects to facilitate the value chain.
He said that Guyana had to do more in terms of value added and accessing high value export markets, because the capabilities are there. The agribusiness specialist said that, while it may not be the case for Guyana, administrative changes impact the focus of the value chain and value added.
He told this publication that CaFAN would be taking on a more aggressive approach under the African, Caribbean and Pacific Group of countries Policy Programme, which is funded by the European Union to disseminate information to local farmers through capacity building.
Reid noted that just like administration poses challenges, building trust between producers and intermediaries is also problematic.
During the morning press briefing on Tuesday held at the Paramaribo Chamber of Commerce, Reid said that “no body can eat potential,” and as a result real policy had to be put in place to break down the current barriers such as bureaucracy.
The agribusiness specialist noted that after the various workshops representatives would be meeting with CaFAN members to articulate the way forward.
He said that at the end of the two days in dealing directly with value chain, farmers and policy makers would arrive at recommendations to foster agro processing with export potential being realized.
Ian Goodfellow of Goodfellow Farms out of Nassau, Bahamas, presented on how to effectively build a brand and take into consideration the value chain to grow small scale farmers into fully functioning businesses with multifaceted components and approaches.
He presented to a room filled with stakeholders on Tuesday including farmers from Guyana looking to grow their small-scale papaya operations into functional value chain entities.
