Minister of Agriculture of Guyana informs IICA authorities of the country’s agricultural challenges
San José, 21 April 2016 (IICA). The Minister of Agriculture of Guyana, Noel L. Holder, visited the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in Costa Rica to engage in dialogue on the results of and opportunities generated by the technical cooperation provided by the Institute in Guyana.
During the meeting, Holder stated that technical cooperation in Guyana should emphasize comprehensive water management, creation of a soil map, processing of value-added products with a view to increasing the exportable supply, creation of links between small producers and markets, and promotion of the dairy industry.
“We need to better understand our topography and soil, how to improve our productivity and how to optimize marketing for our agriculture; in this way, we will be able to better plan our use of resources and swiftly implement a strategy that drives dairy production,” stated Holder.
The visit took place from April 12 to 15. The minister was accompanied by Richard Nigel, Director General of the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA); Ida Sealey, General Manager of the Guyana Marketing Corporation; and Wilmot Garnett, IICA Representative in that country.
Replicative experiences
The ministerial delegation traveled throughout different Costa Rican provinces as part of a three-day field trip. They participated in a tour of the Dos Pinos factory, in Coyol de Alajuela. Dos Pinos, the largest dairy company in Central America and the Caribbean, processes 1.4 million liters of milk per day, used to produce a range of over 600 dairy products.
Participants learned about the company’s mode of operation, cooperative model, and contributions to national development, as well as the support it provides to producers to increase farm efficiency.
On the second day, the delegation visited EARTH University in Guácimo, Limón, to broaden their knowledge of peri-urban production systems. They also visited the university’s food-processing laboratory, where they learned about the production, value-adding, and marketing processes.
Participants discussed integrated livestock farming, visited the banana packing plant, and learned about the field-to-market, quality control, and sanitary and phytosanitary inspection processes for bananas.
“One of the Institute’s main mechanisms for providing technical cooperation is horizontal cooperation, which takes advantage of experiences and lessons learned in other countries and the Institute’s existing capacities to collaborate with other countries in different areas in which they require support,” stated Diego Montenegro, Director of Management and Regional Integration of the Institute.
On the third day of their visit, Holder and his delegation visited the Tropical Agricultural Research and Higher Education Center (CATIE) in Turrialba, where they learned about the good practices the center implements in its commercial dairy production as well as its intensive tropical lowland production model whose main objective is to produce quality milk at very low cost with minimal emissions.
They also visited the CATIE International Cocoa Collection, a potential source of clones that are resistant to pests, diseases and extreme conditions.
The minister and the delegation learned about IICA’s work as well as production methods that could be replicated in Guyana, and discussed possible opportunities for collaboration between the Institute and the Ministry.
More information: diego.montenegro@iica.int