[www.inewsguyana.com] – Guyana’s has reaffirmed its commitment to ensuring greater food security as one of the means of eliminating extreme poverty and hunger pledging to support the world in its cause.
President David Granger made the commitment while joining the world in observance of World Food Day 2015 under the theme, “Social Protection and Agriculture: Breaking the Cycle of Rural Poverty”. ‘
President Granger explained that food security is built on three main pillars. These are: food availability, access to food and the appropriate use of food.
He said that while the Coast is relatively food secure, the same cannot be said for hinterland communities.
“To break the cycle of poverty, we must understand what is the most vulnerable section of our population and which are the most susceptible areas in our country… although we have some food insecurity on the Coast, it is greatest in the vast hinterland,” the Head of State said.
Food insecurity affects small-scale independent artisans such as fishermen and small-scale miners; marginalised groups such as labourers, single-parents and the elderly and residents of hinterland communities.
In addition to poverty, climate change is another major challenge that the farming community has to grapple with. President Granger said that droughts and floods are occurring and recurring with greater regularity and severity.
“Our challenge, therefore, is to make agriculture more resilient especially against the effects of the cycle of droughts and floods,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Opposition People’s Progressive Party further criticized the governments and actions that could negatively affect the
The Party said that farmers in today’s world need access to information, credit and greater market access. Farmers also need to have access to science, innovation and knowledge.
“This is why the $30,000 per month stipend which was taken away from the young Amerindian people is reprehensible and insensitive.
Many of those young people have no other income since investment in the various avenues is still hard to come by. This means that they will have to move to the urban areas where they will face other challenges,” the release stated.
“Moreover, the $10,000 per school child comes to mind. The peripheral criticisms notwithstanding, the fact of the matter is that since the poor tend to have more children they would have benefitted more in absolute terms. Again this was slashed by the uncaring APNU+AFC coalition administration,” PPP also argued.
“Highlighting the vital role of farmers in a country whose backbone of the economy still remains agriculture is critical. and social protection must be assigned the level of support required to bring about the all-round development of the country and all the people, said PPP.
“The PPP calls on the Granger-led APNU+AFC coalition administration to put an end to the political and racial discrimination against the farming community in Guyana and to restore immediately the social protection measures linked to agriculture. In order that the workers and farmers in Guyana can truly enjoy the “good life” promised by APNU+AFC and that their livelihood would not be destroyed due to neglect and empty promises by an uncaring government,” the statement noted.
Nick your blog has no merit. If the PPP has not done anything for farmers then tell us why this Defacto Granger Government promised rice farmers that they will ensure higher yields for their crops were executed while on the campaign trail but once they got into Government these same farmers were neglected. Nick please explain or clarify.
Well , I must commend the President for his idea of food security. PPP government was in office for 20 odd years what were they doing for the farmers? Nothing???????.