Efforts are underway to revive the local coconut industry, which has huge potential for growth despite the challenges facing it.
At the launch of a training programme to resuscitate the industry at Guyana School of Agriculture yesterday, several speakers, including head of the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute (NAREI) Dr. Oudho Homenauth, stressed the importance of the industry, which has had its up and downs over the years.
Dr. Homenauth spoke of the emphasis that has been placed on the coconut industry by the Ministry of Agriculture and by extension the Government of Guyana over the past two years. He explained that coconut is the third largest generator of income for the agricultural sector, with international demands for both the coconut and its by-products increasing every day. He further noted that coconut palms are occupants of a large quantity of agricultural lands in Guyana and he urged members of the audience to see coconut as more of an industry rather than as a single commodity.
