Major General (Ret’d) Joe Singh was on Tuesday installed as chairman of the board of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) and heard a call from the Minister of Agriculture for the agency to be taken “to the next level”.
At the installation ceremony, Minister Zulfikar Mustapha urged the board to take the agency “to the next level”, according to a release from the Ministry of Agriculture. He charged the Board with developing programmes aligned with Government’s policies, as outlined in its 2020-2025 manifesto.
“Some of those policies are to create a supporting environment for other-crops development, promoting agriculture diversification with focus on coconut and horticulture. NAREI is also tasked with promoting an agro-energy industry; producing bioethanol through palm oil, cassava and corn. I recently had a discussion with the Chairman about palm oil in Region One and I’ve asked him to prepare a programme for the Ministry so that we can see the kind of funding necessary for that,” Mustapha said.
The minister expressed several expectations for the new board and these include developing guidelines to expand import substitution crops, as well as, soya bean, corn and other crops in the hinterland savannahs; and paying special attention to developing strategies to boost Guyana’s coconut industry.
“You know for a fact that our coconut industry is about to take off and we’ve been putting a lot of emphasis on … its success and development. We’ve had budgetary allocation[s] last year to develop two new coconut nurseries and this year we are proposing an additional seven nurseries for other areas around the country. We are optimistic that we’ll have those projects approved by the Ministry of Finance so that we can begin constructing these nurseries. The coconut industry, for me, is probably the third most important crop in our country and has the potential to be a very large foreign exchange earner for Guyana. We’ve also made great progress with joining the International Coconut Community (ICC),” Mustapha was quoted as saying.
The Board was also tasked with guiding NAREI on ways to expand on training and its extension service capabilities. Mustapha stressed the importance of ensuring that NAREI’s extension officers are more responsive to the needs of the farmers. He added that one of the major challenges in Guyana is getting the technology to farmers.
“Our extension officers need to be more engaged with farmers’ groups to assist with the establishment of demonstration plots and place more emphasis on the dissemination of agriculture technology to these groups,” the minister declared. He also spoke to the need for plant protection and dealing with diseases and the links the ministry has forged with neighbouring Suriname.
The Board will also have to pay close attention to the development and implementation of the mangrove development plan for 2021-2025. Mustapha urged the members to develop a programme to guide government’s five-year strategic plan for strengthening Guyana’s sea defences through the integration of mangroves, inclusive of the execution of mangrove replanting exercises in vulnerable areas across the Coast.
Singh, in his remarks was optimistic that the Board will work together to address the areas identified by Mustapha.
“The Minister has given us a very comprehensive outline of his and Cabinet’s expectations of the Board and direction on what is considered priorities as it relates to NAREI’s mandate. I don’t expect us to only be sitting in a boardroom, but we’ll also be visiting other areas across the country. In this way we’ll be able to see the results of NAREI’s research as well as interact with farmers,” the Chairman was quoted as saying.
