New agriculture boards urged to embrace innovation

AGRICULTURE Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, on three separate occasions on Tuesday, met with newly appointed members of the Board of Directors for the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA), the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board (PTCCB) and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB).
During the meetings, Minister Mustapha reaffirmed government’s confidence in the various boards’ abilities to take innovative steps to move their respective agencies forward.
While addressing members of the GSA Board of Directors, Minister Mustapha said that government has a vested interest in further developing the school, given the role it plays in delivering quality agriculture-focused education.

“The Guyana School of Agriculture is one of a kind. I know for a fact that even though other countries have senior institutions offering programmes in agriculture, students travel from all over the Caribbean to attend our school. We, too, have the University of Guyana with an agriculture programme but the knowledge offered at GSA is unmatched. With this in mind, it is my hope to have the school extend its services to other regions. I would like for a campus to be established in Berbice, since this is a large agriculture-producing region and many persons would like to attend. I’m entrusting the responsibility to you to explore this and make recommendations so that government can make this a reality,” Minister Mustapha said.

Newly appointed chairman of the board, Dr. Dindial Permaul, said that he looks forward to working with the new board to ensure the school continues on a positive path. He added that, with the vision of the government, the experience of the board members and the resources being made available to facilitate development, GSA will be able to achieve a lot.
Following that meeting, Minister Mustapha met with the newly appointed Board of Directors for the Pesticide and Toxic Chemicals Control Board. During the meeting, Minister Mustapha said that regulating the use of pesticides and toxic chemicals is crucial in Guyana.

“Large companies are signaling their desire to invest in the country and they will need permission and oversight in the area of toxic chemicals. You will have to ensure that you move the Board forward. We have to ensure that we not only work with the companies, but with all the stakeholders to enlighten them about the dangers of chemicals and proper storage practices. While we recognise the significant achievement in chemicals management in Guyana, we must also be weary of the emerging chemicals issues in Guyana, especially in the farming communities,” Minister Mustapha said.
Chairman of the Board, Dr. Leslie Munroe, said that the board will ensure it delivers on its purposes.

HIGHER LEVEL

“I see the year ahead as one which we will try to make the laboratory function at a higher level and to achieve those goals which were set in the shortest possible time,” Dr. Munroe said.
While meeting with newly appointed Board of Directors for the GRDB, Minister Mustapha reminded members that rice remains one of Guyana’s largest foreign exchange earners.

“We have to ensure we develop and move this industry forward. Since my appointment as Minister of Agriculture, I’ve taken a ‘hands on’ approach to dealing with matters pertaining to the rice industry. I’ve been addressing issues affecting farmers, millers and stakeholders in general. With the expertise that we have on this Board, I am confident that you can move the rice industry forward. Although Guyana has been producing a large quantity of rice, the main focus of this Board is to ensure that you find new markets for Guyana’s paddy and rice. For the next crop, I am very optimistic that it will be a favourable crop, given [the] amount of critical works undertaken in our large rice-producing Regions,” Minister Mustapha said.
The subject minister added that the ministry continues to constantly engage Panama about the outstanding payments owed to millers.

Chairman of the GRDB Board, Madanlall Ramraj, said that he is confident that the Board will be able to address the issues faced by the sector.
“Rest assured that with the competence and the knowledge of the members of the board, we will work as hard as possible to address these issues and restore confidence in the farmers and all stakeholders,” Ramraj said.

The new members of the Board of Directors for GSA include Dr. Dindial Permaul (Chairman), Dr. Mahendra Persaud, Pandit Rabindranath Persaud, Natasha Beerjit-Deonarine, David Fernands, Pawan Persaud, Mae Thomas, Tasreek Khan, Asraf Narine, Trecia David-Garnath, Dr. Nardeo Basdeo, Dennis Deroop, Carol Webster and Brian Greenidge (ex officio/CEO).
The new members of the Board of Directors for the PTCCB include Dr. Leslie Munroe (Chairman), Dr. Dindial Permaul, Odessa Duncan, Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Pooran Seeraj, Dr. Dwight Waldron, Dr. Berysha Saskia Solomon, Narinedat Bhikran, Rajendranath Mooniram, Maxine Bess and Trecia David-Garnath (ex oficio/Registrar).

The new members of the Board of Directors for the GRDB include Madanlall Ramraj (Chairman), David Ramdehol, Jaya Manickchand, Dr. Oudho Homenauth, Dharamkumar Seeraj, Lekha Rambrich, Bopaul Jagroop, Dr. Dindial Permaul, Kian Jabour, Natasha Beerjit-Deonarine, Stewart Gonsalves, Seepaul Narine, Zamal Hussein and Nizam Hassan (ex Officio/GM).