Agriculture

The General Manager of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), Nizam Hassan could be sent off the job later this week, days after he was arraigned on an indictable fraud charge. Hassan is on GYD$250,000 bail in connection with alleged fraud in relation to the construction of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (NGMC) building on Robb and Alexander Streets, Georgetown. ...

Guyana’s fish production has suffered a significant decline partly due to the adverse impact of sargassum seaweed, local and regional fishery experts said. Chief Fisheries Officer at the Ministry of Agriculture, Denzil Roberts said dry weather due to climate change, piracy, cost of inputs for small-scale fisherfolk and the presence of sargassum seaweed have conspired to reduce Guyana’s fish production. ...

Guyana will not be able to transship honey exports through Trinidad and Tobago any time soon because the twin-island Caribbean nation does not know when it will amend its almost 70-year old law. Trinidad and Tobago’s Chief Veterinary Officer, Richard Kangaloo said his country was sticking by the law as far as possible but was willing to “consider” Guyana’s requests ...

The Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has borrowed and modified a Puerto Rico protocol to remove large amounts sargassum seaweed that has been retarding the movement of fishing vessels and chasing away some fish species from otherwise heavily populated fishing grounds. Executive Director of CRFM, Milton Haughton said the problem has been plaguing the Caribbean for the past five years. ...

Caribbean Sub-regional Director of the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO), Dr. Lystra Fletcher-Paul says Caribbean nations should seriously consider restricting the importation of certain foods once they are in a position to produce healthier substitutes. “I don’t think so at all. It’s high time. What we are waiting on is the information and we have to have a regular supply ...

The Caribbean Week of Agriculture, an annual forum of technical experts and farmers organisations, could soon become a marketplace for the private sector in the region’s quest to boost food production and reduce its annual food import and health care bills. Secretary General of the 15-nation Caribbean Community (Caricom), Irwin La Rocque on Wednesday issued the call in an address ...

As the demand across the Caribbean grows for bottled coconut water, the Executive Director of the Caribbean Agricultural Research and Development Institute, Barton Clarke says the major challenge would be sufficient planting material. “The major constraint is going to be adequate amount of appropriate planting material given that we have to treat with three or four major international pests and ...

The Port Manager of the Antigua Port, Darwin Telemaque on Tuesday recommended that Trinidad become a regional shipping hub to help bring down transportation costs and reduce reliance on Miami. “If you start thinking about what’s Miami… Trinidad has more potential than Miami because they make things. Miami does nothing. They just receive things and distribute so we have an ...

Director of the Technical Centre for Agricultural and Rural Cooperation (CTA), Michael Hailu says that ACP-EU organisation is moving to expand the marketing of agricultural produce and products to several other Caribbean countries. “One of our projects, in partnership with the Caribbean Farmers Network and the Sandals Foundation, is working to strengthen linkages to domestic, regional and export markets in ...

The 14th edition of the Caribbean Week of Agriculture (CWA), widely recognised as the most important event in the region’s agricultural calendar, opens on Monday in the Cayman Islands. Taking the theme Investing in Food and Agriculture in the Caribbean, the event is being organised from October 24 to 28 and is expected to attract several hundred farmers, agribusiness entrepreneurs, policy-makers, ...