“Information technology is a means of empowerment,” Agriculture minister Robert Persaud said at the launch of the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board website at the Guyana School of Agriculture recently.
According to a Government Information Agency (GINA) press release, the website is an initiative of the ministry in collaboration with Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Control Board and the Pan American Health Organisation. It aims at educating students, farmers and citizens about the different uses and misuses of pesticides and chemicals associated with agriculture.
GINA said the website will enhance training for students and farmers in areas such as the use of herbicides and insecticides in plant management by advising on the type of pesticide to be used on a particular crop; the duration of such use and the time for planting and fertilizing. Local and international articles on pesticides and the use of toxic chemicals on crops will also be published along with stakeholders, vending premises, pest control operators and importers. The website is located at www.ptccb.org.gy
Persaud said government is prepared to support and serve farmers and this website would allow it to do so effectively. He also using this type of technology is consistent with modern farming trends and these changes have forced the ministry and the government to look at different techniques. 3
Meanwhile the minister said the removal of tariffs as outlined by the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) if it comes into being, would mean that agricultural produce would have to compete with other European markets and as such, would have to be more competitive. The EPA is a proposed trade agreement with all European nations which would allow for free trade and the removal of tariffs with regard to goods and services produced in the Caribbean.
It would entail meeting the requirements on the world market; the minister said referring to the Sanitary and Phyto Sanitary Standards (SPS) requirements and its effects on the sector. The SPS determines the type of fertilizer used, how much and how it is used. Because of these requirements Caricom market standards are now more stringent.
