In a move to address the rising cost of living, the Guyana Government announced that it will be arranging monthly farmers markets at locations to be specified in East Berbice, East Coast Demerara, Georgetown, East Bank Demerara, and West Coast Demerara in the first instance, with the possibility of extending to other locations depending on the initial experience.
“This will help our farmers find ready markets for their produce, and help consumers benefit from the price advantage of buying directly from the farmer,” Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh said.
He explained that while the government recognises that fact that there has been an increase in the prices at the marketplace for a number of food items, the extent of the upward price movement is not reflected in similar price movement at the farm gate.
“Indeed, market prices have increased much more steeply that farm gate prices. This, of course, reflects a number of factors, including transportation cost and multiple layers of handling and reselling from farm to final retail,” he reasoned.
In another move to address the rising cost of living, Dr Singh said “we intend to engage in further consultations with the communities most affected both on the coast and in the hinterland on possible interventions to help ease the impact on the most vulnerable in our society.”
To this end, government has allocated a sum of $5 billion to meet the cost of the interventions to be implemented following these consultations.
