CARICOM team holds discussion with President
-as plans for agriculture, food security forum forge ahead
Georgetown, GINA, April 2, 2008
With the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) moving ahead with its plans to address food security in the Region as a result of rising food prices and other issues affecting CARICOM states, a regional team led by CARICOM’s Secretary-General Edwin Carrington today met with President Bharrat Jagdeo to finalise schedules for various fora on the critical issues.
Following up on a meeting held in December, 2007 when CARICOM Heads met to discuss the problem of rising food prices and its effects on the region, the Secretary General pointed out that since President Jagdeo is the Head of Government responsible for agriculture and thus, the initiative in the region, today’s discussion was mainly to outline specific dates for a number of meetings which will be convenient to the Guyanese Leader. These will lead up to the major agriculture investment forum involving CARICOM Heads in June.
By mid-month, it is expected that the Heads will host a press conference on the issue while a forum to be held in Guyana is being planned for next week.
“One of the ways in dealing with the issue of food prices is enhancing the supply, increasing the supply. In fact, there are two aspects, not only food prices, but even food availability. We have to produce it, and Guyana is not only fortunate to have the President leading but you (Guyanese) have a country with one of the inputs necessary for food production-land-something which is not much in abundance in a number of the CARICOM countries”, the Secretary-General posited.
He noted that Surinam and Belize also have an advantage in this area.
“These are countries in CARICOM that have a large capacity in terms of land and I expect that a significant amount of any increase of the Region’s agriculture will take place right here in Guyana,” he said.
As food prices continue to soar in CARICOM and other countries as a result of the rising cost of fuel due to increased demand and a switch in crops among other occurrences, Governments have been putting interim measures in place to cushion the effects. Guyana recently announced a zero-percent excise tax on diesel, in response to the March increase in fuel prices. Oil is now priced at US $110 per barrel. Government also, earlier this year, zero-rated additional food items which once attracted Value Added Tax (VAT).
Meanwhile, a number of commodities on the international market have been continuing to increase including milk, cheese and wheat-flour.
Last week, The Ministry of Agriculture, in its efforts to promote food security in Guyana, launched a ‘grow more’ campaign to encourage citizens to produce more food locally.
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President meets with Circle Tennis teams
-CTA to get assistance
Georgetown, GINA, April 2, 2008
A number of circle tennis teams in the country will shortly receive assistance following a commitment by President Bharrat Jagdeo today at the Office of the President.
The teams led by Circle Tennis Association (CTA) President Mark Walkes met the President to discuss what is needed to ensure that Circle Tennis is promoted more in the country and some of the difficulties facing team members involved in the sport.
The meeting stemmed from a previous encounter the President had with the teams at Le Meridien Pegasus last week during a lecture by former Prime Minister of St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Sir James Mitchell. The lecture was in commemoration of former President and Leader of the People’s National Congress Reform (PNC/R), Desmond Hoyte.
Today’s meeting saw the President committing to assist the teams with sports gear while it was proposed that they also be assisted with their Leadership Retreat for which they are currently planning. It will see the involvement of teams from Regions Two, Three, Four, Seven and Ten.
The CTA plans to ensure that teams from schools across the country involved in the sport are trained while it was noted by the CTA’s President that the Ministry of Education has been giving full support to promoting the sport with the involvement of a number of teachers.
He pointed out that the sport, founded in Berbice in 1943, should be promoted since it is the only national game in the country.
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