Latest update March 28th, 2024 12:59 AM
Jul 24, 2008 News
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud says that farmers have been utilizing the opportunity presented to assist in having concessions being made available so that they can take advantage of the ‘Grow More Campaign.’
According to Persaud, over the last month at least a dozen proposals have been presented with some already approved for concessions.
He noted, however, that the proposals must conform to the relevant criteria before they can be approved.
Persaud previously responded to criticisms that many of the accessories necessary to up food production may not be zero rated or are too expensive, saying that nothing would be further from the truth.
He noted that not only were there a lot of farming tools zero rated, as long as farmers present an Investment Development proposal for a large scale project then the Ministry was more than willing to work with agencies such as the Guyana Revenue Authority to provide concessions.
Some farmers had complained that items such as chain-saws were not zero rated, but according to Persaud the accessories (tools) that were multi purpose and not just agri-based had to remain that way, hence the importance of investment proposals.
The Minister added that there was a farmers’ database in existence that will allow the farmers to fully benefit from offers that the Ministry would put in train.
He urged farmers who were not registered on the database to do so.
The database is being operated by the New Guyana Marketing Corporation.
This newspaper had published a previous article where farmers had said that the price of both fertilizers and herbicides has increased along with the price of just about everything else in the country.
One such “Grow More Food’ farmer had said that that he could not afford to buy fertilizer and herbicide for his crops as they are too expensive.
He suggested some sort of subsidy on fertilizers and herbicides for farmers.
According to one of the leading agricultural chemical suppliers of Guyana, in the past six months, the price of fertilizer has risen by approximately 10 per cent and the price of herbicides has risen by a further 14 per cent
The use of organic fertilizers (such as manure) has been encouraged by the Minister, who noted that VAT on fertilizers and herbicides has been removed along with the duties on these items.
The Grow More campaign was launched earlier this year and during the launch Persaud had told farmers that the government was taking several initiatives to assist in cushioning the effects of the rising cost of fuel and fertilizer on the world market.
He noted that unlike similar campaigns, this one will be market driven and managed by the new Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) which is tasked with finding markets and matching farmers to these markets.
Past campaigns failed, he said, because farmers were asked to produce more without having the market to sell. This led to wastage and farmers becoming frustrated.
Head of State, Bharrat Jagdeo has already announced that the current escalating food prices should be seen as a billion-dollar opportunity rather than a challenge.
THIS IDIOT TELLING GUYANA WE HAVE NO SAY IN THE 50% PROFIT SHARING AGREEMENT WE HAVE WITH EXXON.
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