Guyana working toward slice in US$1B for agri-development

Nov 22, 2009 News

The Agriculture Ministry has requested additional information as it relates to details on conditions and processes for access as it relates to US$1B that has been made available for agricultural development in poor countries.
The availability of the money was announced last Sunday by the Islamic Development Bank (IsDB) and the money is aimed at poor agricultural countries, which must be member states of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC). Guyana is a member.
The announcement came on the eve of the Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO), Rome World Summit on Food and Security at which President Bharrat Jagdeo was a participant.
The agreement to provide the US$1B was concluded between Ahmad Mohamed Ali, President of IsDB, and Jacques Diof, Director-General of the FAO.
This will bring the total IsDB investments with FAO to US$5.0 billion.
The funds will be disbursed within the framework of the Jeddah Declaration, which was approved by the IsDB Board of Governors in June 2008 to finance priority projects in the 26 least developed member countries of the IsDB.
Under the Jeddah Declaration, the FAO will provide the necessary technical support for the formulation and implementation of projects being funded.
According to Odeen Ishmael, Guyana’s Ambassador to Venezuela, Guyana has proposed the establishment of a special fund to assist poor countries with food security.
Ishmael renewed this call in Caracas during a recent forum held by the Latin American and Caribbean Economic System (SELA) on food security in the region. Guyana is seeking global backing for its agriculture programme, “The Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture.”
Guyana attained membership to the OIC in 1998 but has only recently begun serious diplomatic engagement with oil-rich members of the OIC such as Bahrain, Kuwait, Iran, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Libya, Oman, and the United Arab Emirates. Guyana could benefit from this fund in its quest to modernise and strengthen its agricultural sector.
According to an IsDB release, for too long the international community has neglected agriculture and only now recognises the importance of supporting smallholder agriculture as the key to food security.
The agreement is hailed as timely, given Guyana’s pursuit to be the breadbasket once again in the Caribbean region and to explore [un] traditional markets in North America and Europe.