MOU for local FAO office inked

A Memorandum of Understanding to establish a local office of the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) in Guyana was signed by Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud and the Director-General of the FAO, Dr Jacques Diouf when Persaud was in Rome, Italy for an FAO conference recently.

At a press conference at the Agriculture Ministry’s boardroom to update the media on his trip, Persaud said that it is expected that the FAO office will be up and ready by the first quarter of next year. He stated that the establishment of an FAO office here shows the organization’s recognition of Guyana’s strategic role in regional agriculture.

Persaud disclosed that during his attendance at the Thirty-Fourth Session of the FAO conference in Rome which ran from November 22-28, several issues including food security, aid-for-trade and climate change were discussed. He stated that ongoing issues regarding the European Union such as preferential markets were raised.

The Agriculture Minister noted too that he initialled a financing agreement for a US$6M Rural Enterprise and Agricultural Development Project (READ) to be funded by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD). He stated that shortly the agreement will go to the IFAD board for consideration and emphasized that the project, which will support the country’s diversification thrust, will not only be about production but will look at the business and marketing aspects as well.

He declared that the meetings were successful.