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Guyana Receives First Shipment Of Fertilizer From Venezuela

Guyana Receives First Shipment Of Fertilizer From Venezuela

GEORGETOWN, Guyana CMC – The Guyana government said, Monday, it had received the first shipment of 5,000 tons of fertilizer from Venezuela under a revised agreement between the two countries.

Agriculture Minister, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy, said the agreement would significantly boost the agricultural sector, as it will address the cost of production for agricultural products.

Farmers have over the years been faced with the challenge of high prices for fertilizer, a constraint which affected not only their trade but the high price for agricultural commodities.

“Government has invested much in agriculture, but we do have some constraints, one of which is how to deal with the issue of the high price of sourcing fertilizer and pesticides, not only in the direct use of these things to improve production and yields but also from the perspective of ensuring sustainable environmental practices,” Ramsammy said.

The agreement with Caracas paves the way for Guyana to receive 5,000 tons in two phases. The second shipment is expected to arrive in March 2014.

Enhanced farming practices, better yields are some of the benefits to be derived from this venture as the two shipments per year, will significantly satisfy the local demand.

“The work that we have done in this region from the FAO, IICA, CARDI and the University of the West Indies and our Ministry, have all recognized this, and we have made significant strides in diminishing these impacts,” Ramsammy said.

The affordability of producing food, the affordability of procuring food, we have all been making some very special efforts…Guyana signed an agreement with President Chavez and over the last weeks with President Maduro was the first step in this process.”

The Agriculture Ministry, Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), and the Rice Producers’ Association (RPA), will be working collaboratively to develop a program whereby farmers can have access to the fertilizer at GUY$5000 (One Guyana dollar = US$0.001 cents) per bag as compared to the present price of GUY$7,000-GUY$10,000.

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