-to target rice sector
An assessment to evaluate the risks faced by the local agriculture sector with emphasis on the rice supply chain and the feasibility of agriculture risk transfer and insurance solutions for the sector is to begin soon.

The World Bank will be supporting the government in this project. The assessment of the

rice supply chain will evaluate and prioritise risks, and identify and rank areas of future policy and investments needed for improving competitiveness, a press release from the World Bank said. The pre-feasibility assessment on agriculture risk transfer instruments such as insurance will be based on the analysis of the status of key areas for agriculture risk management: mainly technical, institutional, financial and agro-metrological infrastructure. This assessment will focus on main agriculture activities requiring priority attention such as rice, fruits and vegetable production, livestock and aquaculture, the Bank said.

It noted that agriculture is the most important productive sector of Guyana’s economy, accounting for a third of the country’s Gross Domestic Product and 30% of employment.

However, the Bank noted, in the past five years, the sector has been affected by international volatility in price fluctuations and unusual flooding which have contributed to poor agriculture growth performance. “To guarantee sustainable growth in the agricultural sector, it is important to define and implement an overarching risk management strategy, which includes the development of instruments such as insurance, to reduce its vulnerability to frequent and extreme weather events including floods or the effects of the current El Nino condition,” Agriculture Minister, Robert Persaud was quoted as stating.

“The agriculture sector in Guyana is not only vulnerable to increasingly unpredictable and extreme weather events but also to a wide range of production constraints that comprise the competitive development of the sector”, said Diego Arias, World Bank Senior Agriculture Econo-mist. Ensuring a competitive Guyanese agriculture sector and the design and development of an effective risk transfer solution such as insurance are crucial for the country’s development, he added.

As the country’s sugar and rice quotas in the European Market will be  reduced, the Guyana government is seeking to diversify the agriculture economy and its production systems with emphasis in new crops, livestock, fisheries enterprises and other income generating activities, the release said.