[www.inewsguyana.com] – Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj says Trinidad and Tobago does not have the land space for large scale farming, hence the reason for Government’s decision to take advantage of the “Jagdeo Initiative.”
Minister Devant Maharaj sought to explain the rationale for Government’s decision to cultivate land in Guyana as announced by Finance Minister Larry Howai in the 2013-2014 fiscal package.
He said the objective is to get the investment from the private sector.
“While we are acting as a facilitator, in that the Government would not be investing into Guyana taxpayers’ dollars here, we have already gotten an agreement with the Guyanese Government to utilise their farms, just as we did with the large farms here, act as a filter to see who gets access to that land, we will be doing in a similar manner with Guyana. In the meantime, we will continue to develop our own State farms and fund smaller farmers here.”
During his Presidency, Guyana’s Bharrat Jagdeo had offered land in Guyana to Caricom States for cultivation. This was a measure to aid the region in its food security efforts. Recently, Guyana and Trinidad signed a Memorandum of Understanding which sees Guyana allocating 10,000 of acres of farmlands to the twin island republic to assist with their food production.
This move has been met with much criticism from farmers in both countries. (ctntworld)
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