Guyanese must exercise willingness to choose locally manufactured goods

Permanent Secretary (PS) of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jervis believes that Guyanese need to make a conscious effort to support local manufacturers by purchasing their merchandise. Mr. Jervis was at the time of speaking at the press briefing of the launch of the Coconut Festival, which is scheduled to take place in October. In response to questions about Guyana’s deteriorating manufacturing sector, the Agriculture Ministry PS noted that the issues hindering the agro-processing sector in Guyana are many.

According to Jervis, the cost of production for farmers, availability of power, cost of power, dumping, technical support, access to suitable credit, scale are all part of the circular argument which contributes to the decline in production.

Additionally, the PS said there are unscrupulous middle men of the production process. “These persons (traders, businesspeople) are usually the people who make or break farmers, depending on the prices they offer. They also often use the farmers’ money to develop their businesses and pay farmers too little and too late.” But Jervis nevertheless urged Guyanese to ‘buy local’ as far as is practicable. “The producers need the marketing orders to drive the production.”

According to Jervis, many Guyanese are unaware that locally produced coconuts are shipped to Trinidad and Tobago, where the coconut is bottled and later imported to be sold on the local markets. “And many Guyanese would pick up the bottled coconut water in the supermarkets, not knowing that the coconuts are locally produced; it‘s just that Trinidad packaged them.” This is just one scenario; the Agriculture PS said, in which locally produced goods are overlooked simply because of packaging.

However, Jervis said that it is pertinent for Guyanese to recognise that their choices affect entire value chains, “from input suppliers to transportation people to insurance to banks to schools to hospitals and the list goes on; the more we buy local the more all of the sectors thrive.:

He noted that while mending the loopholes of the local manufacturing sector will take time, it is the duty of Guyanese to support it.

“In the meantime, we must make an effort to eat what we grow and grow what we eat,” Jervis added. He explained too that locally produced fruits and vegetables are grown with less chemical fertilizers than imported produce. (KAIETEUR NEWS)