With the Caribbean now focused on positioning its agricultural sector to accomplish the goal of reducing extra-regional food imports by 25% by 2025, the recent Guyana Agri-Investment Forum and Expo staged at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre has attracted a fair measure of attention across the region, never mind the fact that, perhaps understandably, skeptics continue to take furtive glances backwards at the succession of ‘false starts’ which the region has had to endure in seeking to fix its food security limitations..
It would appear, however, that a new sense of urgency on the food security issues has been sparked by the May 19-21 forum in Guyana and shortly thereafter, the May 28-29 Barbados National Agricultural Exhibition.
The visit to Guyana by Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister Dr. Keith Rowley for the Guyana event not only marked what now appears to be an attempt to put an end to the long-standing imbroglio between the two Caribbean Community (CARICOM) member countries over market access in the twin-island Republic for exports from Guyana, it may even have witnessed a further development manifested in the display presence at the Guyana Agri-Investment forum of Arapaima Logistics a joint venture partnership between the Trinidad and Tobago-owned RAMPS Logistics and the local aviation entity, Roraima Airways.
Arapaima Logistics has challenged itself to locate regional and international markets for farm produce cultivated in Guyana, a pursuit which, if successful, can go a far way towards boosting the country’s food exports and by extension, expanding the local agricultural sector.
Arapaima Logistics has created a marketing arm named Caribbean and South American Fresh Produce (CASA Fresh) which has been assigned that mission. The operations of CASA Fresh are supported by an online platform to facilitate the
convenient purchasing of high quality agricultural produce for which Guyana is renowned.
Arapaima Logistics’ operations begins from the position of recognizing the importance of working closely with farmers in order to secure reliable information on the types and volumes of produce available for marketing. The company’s Guyanese Agriculture Specialist Ramsingh Taijbally has established relationships with local farmers through field visits to farming communities in the Pomeroon and Crabwood Creek and on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, his mission being to understand farmers’ production patterns and to ensure that quality assurance considerations meet with the requirements of the international market.
The pursuits of CASA Fresh are consistent with concerns raised by potential investors during the recently concluded 25×2025 forum with regard to ensuring that agricultural exports from Guyana secure an unassailable reputation for high quality. The company says that it is already in receipt of expressions of interest from outside Guyana in importing local farm produce from Guyana into other CARICOM territories and the United States.
In March, Arapaima Logistics acquired more than 40,000 dried coconuts from farmers in the Pomeroon for the external market. The company says that it anticipates that eddo, sweet potato, plantains, yam and ginger will be added to its list of agricultural exports.
A release from Arapaima Logistics has pointed to the role which the Guyana Agri-Investment Conference and Expo is positioned to play in reducing the CARICOM’s multi-billion US dollar food import bill. The Agri-Investment Forum and Expo, the release explained, created opportunities for farmers, agro-processors, and other businesses in the agriculture value chain.
