This is about as good a time as any to mount a vigorous lobby for the allocation of a more generous share of state resources to the growth of those mostly micro and small businesses in the agro-processing and craft sectors, among others, which have not, over the years, had delivered to them the various promises made by government including, at one time or another, promises of facilities that would enable them to transfer their manufacturing operations to premises that would render those operations more efficient.
Here, it is not only a matter of us now being able to afford to ‘raise our (national) game’ as far as the agro-processing sector is concerned, but also because the country’s enhanced ability to invest in the sector coincides not just with both the regional and extra-regional demand for agro-produce, but also because it is widely felt that the growth of Guyana’s agro-processing sector may well be inextricably linked to the undertaking which Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries have just given to effect significant cuts in extra-regional food imports into the region.
In circumstances where there has always been a fair measure of uncertainty as to the extent of government’s commitment to institutionalising the country’s agro-processing sector to upgrade its contribution to both employment generation and local and regional food security might it not – given the extent to which agro-processing will have to contribute to the import substitution commitments that underpin the realisation of the 25 x 2025 goals – be a good idea to seek to arrive at a modus vivendi at the level of CARICOM for the establishment of a major regional agro-processing operating complex here in Guyana that provides all of the various services required by the region as a whole, ranging from research and development to production and packaging and marketing under a single CARICOM brand?
Logistical considerations aside, such an initiative may well pose challenges for our agricultural sector insofar as fruit and vegetable production for the agro-processing sector is concerned, though it has to be said that the track record of our local farmers suggests that where adequate incentives for increased fruit and vegetable production are ‘on the table,’ the farmers can almost certainly be relied upon to deliver.
It took the contributions of Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Guyanese/American Chamber of Commerce, Eldon Bremner; the Chairman of Demerara Distillers Ltd, Komal Samaroo, and the United States Ambassador to Guyana, Sarah-Ann Lynch; to do what government should have done years ago, that is, provide our agro-processors, craftspeople et al with a forum (perhaps several) on effective strategies for exporting to the United States, and of course to other countries. This in circumstances where deficient knowledge of regulations associated with accessing international markets has been one of the frequent complaints of local small businesses, particularly in the agro-processing sector seeking to access external markets, more particularly in the United States.
While the recent forum was designed specifically for micro and small businesses in the agro-processing and craft sectors, it was altogether unsurprising that representatives of other emerging businesses put in an appearance as well. Setting aside the enlightenment deriving from the substantive agenda, Mr Samaroo in his address, provided critical information on the role that the soon-to-be-launched Guyana World Trade Center can play in helping local businesses to support their efforts to have their products placed on the US market.
Mr Samaroo’s presentation apart, the US Ambassador provided valuable ‘nuts and bolts’ information on regulations governing the importation of products originating in Guyana into the United States.