Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud is calling on forest operators and small loggers to be more proactive in delivering quality products to satisfy the current housing construction boom.
Persaud noted that the target production concession rate set out by the government is 60 percent in any forest area but of the 17 concessions granted by the Guyana Forestry Commission, only five operators have been able to achieve the target, according to a release from the Government Information Agency (GINA).
The agriculture minister was at the time delivering remarks during a workshop for small loggers and large scale forest operations to discuss the management of concessions and delivery of raw materials to sawmills.
“I am very concerned about the low level of utilisation of the forest areas… when we look at some companies we see a percentage of four percent to up to 78 percent, but very distressingly we only have five companies that were able to meet the 60 percent and this is an area that needs to be addressed very seriously this year,” he is quoted by GINA as saying.
Persaud added that $63B has been allocated by government this year for investing in Public Sector Investment Programmes (construction-related projects), compared to the $46B in 2010.
According to the agriculture minister, who has responsibility for the forestry sector, there was a 45 percent growth last year in the European market, compared to the previous year and therefore forest operators “should rise to the occasion if we are to continue to supply the demand.”
He said further that operators need to improve supply since there has been a constant increase in prices with greenheart increasing from $260 to $320 per board measure (BM).
It is estimated that this year alone the commission would need close to 300,000 cubic meters of timber to supply the local market.
“Even if we have 100 percent utilisation of the concession, it will not change our rate of deforestation, so if we take care of this increased demand and once we operate within the guidelines of the 20 cubic meters per hectare, it will not trouble our rate of deforestation which currently stands at 0.06, the lowest in the world,” Persaud added according to GINA.
Meanwhile, he expressed disappointment over the sloth by forest operators and loggers who are underutilizing their concessions and warned that those who are found to be doing so will have their concessions repossessed and reallocated to operators who are serious about development.
“I want for us to understand that and not for it to be misrepresented out there that we are advocating an increased rate of deforestation.
We have so much space so that we can contribute and support the local forestry sector,” he is quoted as saying.
After the official ceremony, six of the 112 State Forest Permits (SFPs) to be allocated this year were available for distribution.
However, only two Community Forestry Organisations were on hand and received their SFPs from Minister Persaud.
The workshop which saw the participation of several operators within the forestry sector and managers and staff of the GFC was held at the Commission’s Multi-Purpose Centre, Kingston.
Guyana signed an MoU in November 2009 with the Government of Norway, which outlined a cooperation framework for the next five years, GINA added.
