Guyana is listed as one of five member countries of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) that have been identified as intended beneficiaries of a five-year Sustainable Agriculture in the Caribbean (SAC) project, intended to promote climate-resilient agriculture for equitable economic growth and the increased economic prosperity of women and youth in the sector.
The project was launched virtually earlier this month by the World University Service of Canada (WUSC) in collaboration with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries in Jamaica, another of the CARICOM member countries identified to benefit from the initiative. The project seeks to address gaps and barriers in agricultural market systems faced by young people and women in the region, its primary goals being the alleviation of the impact of climate change, reducing vulnerability to natural disasters, and fostering climate-resilient agriculture markets.
For Guyana, the emergence of the project comes against the backdrop of the heightened presence of women and young men emerging as farmers, agro-processors, and fruit and vegetable vendors. In recent times all of these pursuits have been affected by a combination of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic, recent floods in the region, and challenges associated with securing adequate financing to enable meaningful growth and expansion of their respective enterprises.
Speaking at the launch, Jamaica’s Minister of Agriculture and Fisheries, Audley Shaw noted that the project was an example of the type of partnership the government pursues to promote growth and development in the agriculture sector.
“We see this initiative as a booster to the agriculture sector. In fact, the SAC project is aligned with the Ministry of Agriculture and Fisheries’ Rural Youth Economic Empowerment Programme, which aims to expose youth to life skills, entrepreneurship and other necessary tools to pursue business opportunities in the agriculture sector,” he was quoted as saying.
