The entire Guyanese population, including farmers, welcome the ambitious “Grow More Food” campaign which was recently launched by the Minister of Agriculture, Mr. Robert Persaud.

This campaign comes at a time in answer to the effects of rising global food prices. This has created a severe dent on the region and has resulted in unprecedented demand on Guyana to supply food to the Caribbean region.

The Guyanese people acknowledge the hardships faced by the people of the region who have been hit by the high price syndrome internationally, ever since the rush to produce bio-fuels from food crops for example sugar cane and corn to feed vehicles rather than feeding the people.

This mad rush by the industrialised world has filtered down its effects on the region’s people and Guyana is ready and making preparations to supply our brothers and sisters in the region with products made in Guyana and grown in Guyana, and our Government under its Agriculture Ministry has taken up this challenge, thus the launch of the ‘Grow More Food’ campaign over the last weekend.

Having listened to our Agriculture Minister, the entire population, especially farmers are convinced that once they take up the challenge, farming will become more profitable, production will increase to meet the needs of people both locally and abroad, and once again Guyana can truly become the “Food Basket of the Caribbean.”

The people remember the much touted “feed, clothe and house the nation” campaign 1976 which was introduced by late leader of the PNC, Mr. Forbes Burnham which went out like a damp squib and resulted in ignominious failure. Indeed it was nothing short of idle talk and wishful thinking.

The people also recall that when Burnham boasted about that campaign, the opposite happened and instead, we were forced to import commodities from sources we once used to export to. They also remember that in 1976 when the PNC was supposed to ‘feed, clothe and house’ the nation, the Burnham government was forced to import some 2,000 bags of blackeye peas from the USA. It was that period when production was at its lowest level.

Rice production which has now become one of the backbones of the economy had dropped so drastically in those years that the then government was forced to import 20,000 bags of rice dust from the U.S. to keep the stockfeed industry in operation. On top of this we had to import cooking oil from St. Vincent and the Grenadines, a country which we once used to export the same commodity to along with copra. To top it off, it was during that same period that our production of agricultural produce dropped to an all-time low and we were unable to export plantains, cabbages and pumpkins to the Eastern Caribbean.

But not so now. The coming of the PPP/C government to power has brought with it an exhilarating wind of change and our farmers from all over the country have taken up the challenge and have since brought production on track to export levels.

The new charge by Minister Persaud to farmers for agricultural diversification and to grow more food is a strategy aimed at improving the lot of farmers. The current campaign is one, which unlike others before it, is not only production oriented but market led. This will definitely bring better fortunes to farmers.

They view with appreciation sums put in by the government in this campaign which is part of a US$20M Agricultural Diversification Programme.

We support the call by the government for farmers to grow more local produce which will lead to sustainability of food supply in the region and in dealing with the rising cost of food prices.

The Guyanese people will benefit from this new initiative since it will increase our export growth rate; will enhance the establishment of services and institutions for a sustainable increase in income derived from the export of non-traditional agricultural exports and the support of institutional arrangements for promoting and managing the agricultural diversification strategy.

We must be mindful of the fact that the rising price for food items on the international market is a clear indication of the unprecedented demand on Guyana to grow more.

We must not therefore sit back and let the opportunity to enhance our chances of becoming masters of own destiny to slip by.

We must act now, and act decisively and join in the campaign to grow more. In keeping abreast with an ever changing world, we have had transformations in the agricultural sector over the years; transformations which could propel us to becoming once again the ‘Food Basket of the Caribbean.’