Guyana is among other countries that will benefit from US$250,000 to assist small farmers mitigate the effects of soaring food prices through a series of projects initiated by the Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) at a total value of US$21 million.

Minister of Agriculture Robert Persaud said he was happy to have received a response from the FAO and despite the fact that a proposal was made for twice the amount, government will have to cope with the programme to support the ‘Grow more’ campaign, the Government Information Agency (GINA) said in a press release.

Persaud said the resources would be used for purchasing more seeds, chemicals and other inputs required by farmers.

“We are also hoping that we can get some amount of farming implements to assist the hinterland and some rural communities, especially small farmers who need to grow and who want that additional support,” Persaud was quoted as saying.

He said further that he was positive that the resources will serve as an impetus for the locally promoted ‘Grow more’ campaign and expects that the commitments made at the FAO summit in Rome will result in benefits soon.
The 48 countries benefiting from FAO’s drive include: Afghanistan, Angola, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Burundi, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Dominica, Eritrea, Grenada, Guyana, Honduras, Jamaica, Kenya, Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Lesotho, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, Rwanda, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Togo, Yemen and Zambia.

The FAO launched its initiative on soaring food prices to help vulnerable countries put in place urgent measures to boost food supplies by ensuring the success of their agricultural campaigns and to provide policy support to improve access to food.