According to the Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV) in Suriname, the government of Suriname has identified this economic activity as a priority area and a driver for future development.
Paramaribo, Suriname, August 16, 2016. The enhancement of ecotourism, the establishment of rural women cooperatives and agricultural diversification are some of the achievements of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Suriname during 2015.
The IICA Delegation in Suriname presented the results achieved in 2015 and the activities programmed for this year to stakeholders, partners and agencies in the agricultural and rural sector, during the Annual Accountability Seminar.
The results presented by IICA were well received by His Excellency Soeresh Algoe, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries of Suriname.
“Through IICA’s support, the agricultural sector is looking forward to implementing the Sanitary and Phytosanitary agreement by enhancing our agricultural health and food safety system, strenghtening Codex Alimentarius activities and developing value chains within the different agricultural subsectors to further enhance our agro food systems”, he said.
According to Algoe, IICA´s initiatives have also contributed to strengthening the business and associative capabilities of vulnerable groups, like women and youth. “Youth interest and their involvement in agriculture is vital to the development of Suriname’s agricultural sector”, he added.
Over forty participants representing ministries, national and international organizations, the private sector, women and youth organizations, educational institutions, NGOs and the media attended the session.
“Suriname has identified agriculture as a priority area and a driver for future development: with an abundance of agricultural land and favourable agro-ecological conditions, Suriname scores with noticeable opportunities for increased production and export”, said Algoe.
Remarkable actions
Some of the actions carried out by the IICA Delegation in Suriname include:
- Development of four Community Based Enterprise Centers in the District of Para through community–based enterprise training and the provision of computers, printers and furniture with funding from the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
- Participation of four senior Management Technical Officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Fisheries (LVV) from Suriname in an educational tour to the Dominican Republic, in response to a ministerial request to IICA to support agricultural diversification with onion, pineapple and bovine industries, as well as tissue culture.
- Training of staff from the Ministry of Agriculture (LVV), as well as fruit and orchard growers, to support the development of an organic agriculture sub-sector. These participants are in turn training farmers, and those farmers, who are applying knowledge garnered in the production of their own organic fertilizers.
- Support for the development of infrastructure facilities for tissue culture and plant propagation for the Ministry of Agriculture. IICA, along with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), has provided the Ministry of Agriculture with infrastructure and equipment, including an autoclave, greenhouse, plant nursery and irrigation system, through a biofuel project funded by UNDP and implemented in collaboration with the Ministry of Natural Resources of Suriname. The main aim is assisting the government of Suriname in developing its Biofuel potential through land reclamation on soils that have been degraded by bauxite mining activities, and to repurpose them in the production of biofuels.
- Support in the establishment of two agro cooperatives for rural women farmers and agro processors as well as capacity building intervention for women groups in Good Manufactures Practices (GMP), Food Safety and Project Proposal Preparation in four rural communities.
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