Agriculture Minster Noel Holder has revealed that the new Board of Directors for the Guyana Rice Development Board has been gazetted with Claude Housty as the Chairman.
Holder made the disclosure during the National Rice Industry Conference held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, Liliendaal yesterday.
The board comprises head of the Millers Association Peter de Groot, as well as head of the Essequibo Paddy Farmers Association Naith Ram, who was once the Region 2 AFC councillor. Ram had been very critical of the PPP administration’s oversight of the rice sector.
Oudho Homenauth, head of the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute is also on the board along with Chief Executive Officer of the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry John Tracey.
Rice farmer and miller Lekha Rambrich will also serve on the board as will Cecil Seepersaud, who served on the Public Service Commission as the vice chairman.
Rounding off the members are Rajindra Persaud, Jinnah Rahaman, George Seales, Ricky Roopchand and Rajdai Jagernauth. Housty subsequently addressed the forum and spoke about the need to market Guyana’s rice globally noting that China, Canada and Mexico could be large markets that Guyana could access.
He said Guyana already has relationships with all three nations and could make proposals through the local embassies.
Tracey also spoke at the conference, focusing his presentation on the cost of production and the impact the lack of funding has on the industry’s growth.
The GRDB board was one of the many government boards were slated for a shakeup by the new administration.
