Gaulbert Sutherland

-as review of proposed policy begins A meeting to review a regional plan to ensure food and nutrition security opened here yesterday with officials emphasizing that it should not be another “talk-shop” ”We are taking a holistic approach.

Little Keith Barker leapt tirelessly about the room laughing with everyone and shouting as only a three-year-old can.

‘We want a good road; without a good road, nothing doing’ (This is the seventh part in a series on the Grow More Food campaign) Producing for years to supply the local market, farmers at Look-out, Parika and Naamryck, East Bank Essequibo say there have been changes in the agriculture landscape but little that encourages them to make the next leap.

-as UN council adopts human rights report United Kingdom Ambassador Bob Last yesterday maintained that an independent investigation of the ‘phantom squad’ is an issue that requires attention as the report on Guyana’s human rights record was adopted by the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) in Geneva, Switzerland.

-open to torture review The Bharrat Jagdeo administration has rejected calls by Canada and the United Kingdom for independent probes into allegations of human rights abuses here, including murders and extra-judicial killings committed by members of the armed forces and a ‘phantom squad.’

– they’re only receiving promises, they say (This is the 6th part in a series on the Grow More Food campaign) It is cherry-picking time on Edward Patterson’s farm at Laluni and several workers harvest thousands of the little red fruit under a blazing sun.

A major milestone for agriculture in the Rupununi was reached as harvesting of 82 acres of paddy expected to yield between 65 to 70 tonnes of rice commenced at Moco-Moco, Region Nine on Thursday.

…school facing serious problems, CSEC not offered For over four hours on Wednesday, Lorna Baptiste waited with her baby and two other children for the once monthly medical service provided at the Laluni Health Centre.

– no markets, no planting, Persaud tells farmers The Agriculture Ministry will be more aggressive in seeking export markets, Minister Robert Persaud pledged yesterday, though he said if farmers don’t have markets they should not plant and ultimately an agro-industrial base will be the salvation for the sector.

‘The amount of farm that the Minister of Agriculture tell people ah grow, it ain’t gat no market for am’ (This is the 5th part in a series on the Grow More Food campaign) Surgim Sarju plans to rear fish and keep bees.

-middlemen reign supreme in Black Bush Polder (This is the fourth part in a series on the Grow More Food campaign) Quantities of ochro and boulanger were left unpicked in Black Bush Polder fields in August.

(This is the second part in a series on the Grow More Food campaign.

–ministry says exports doubled since 2006 Shortly after the return to office of the PPP/C government in 2006, Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud announced an ambitious drive to boost food production by focusing on the 4 ps: pineapple, peanuts, plantains and passion fruit and this later evolved into the broader Grow More Food Campaign.

-miners tell Norway team Proposed regulations for the mining industry are not just difficult, but in many cases, impossible to fulfill, miners argued in a paper given to a Norwegian-contracted team here to evaluate the forestry partnership with Guyana.

In the face of increased flooding, a project to open up 4,500 acres of land for farming was yesterday unveiled to Pomeroon farmers at Siriki, Pomeroon River.

-gold target slashed by 20% Miners remain apprehensive about the industry’s future in light of proposed new rules while the Guyana Gold and Diamond Miners Association (GGDMA) has expressed concern that land once available for mining is not being released as normal.

-villager who set up connection in custody after anger flares Mark Anthony Girdhari Persaud, 8, left his Annandale, East Coast Demerara home to catch fish with his little brother in a canal a short distance from his house yesterday only to be electrocuted.

Two friends died when their car smashed into a utility pole and then plunged into a canal at Leonora, West Coast Demerara (WCD) on Saturday night.

– results have implications for monetary disbursements, Brattskar says The independent review of the REDD+ enabling activities required before any money is disbursed to this country under the Guyana-Norway forest protection agreement will be done within the next few months, Director of Norway’s Climate and Forest Initiative, Ambassador Hans Brattskar says.

For the past 30 years, Vishnu roamed the vast wetlands of the Boerasirie Conservancy, setting seines and using lines to catch “sweet-water” fish.