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Against the backdrop of Guyana’s
natural resource base, agriculture is among the
leading productive sectors and fundamental to the
economy, contributing over 30% of Guyana’s Gross
Domestic Product (GDP) annually, 30% of employment
and 40% of export earnings. In spite of its lead
role, agriculture is still largely characterized by
the production and export of primary products.
Production and export of value added products remain
relatively small. Traditionally, sugar has and
continues to dominate agriculture, contributing over
15% to total GDP between 1994 and 2004. Rice,
livestock, fishing and a range of non-traditional
commodities, namely, heart of palm, pineapple,
plantain, pepper and pumpkin, all contribute to
gross agricultural output, employment and foreign
exchange earnings. Agriculture in Guyana is also
central to the country’s food security, supplying
significant amounts of fruit and vegetable, fish,
chicken, beef and pork to satisfy local consumption.
The development challenges to the food,
agriculture and natural resources system in Dominica
are no different from other CARICOM states. The main
domestic constraints could be summarized as
inadequate institutional arrangements and
coordination, poor, or absence of adequate,
infrastructural facilities, limited qualified human
resource capacity, and the absence of or inadequate
policy and legislation, institutional frameworks and
strategies. While there is no specific Agricultural
Development Policy and Strategy, government’s
priority areas for agriculture emphasize policy and
legislative assistance in agricultural health and
food safety; improving and equipping laboratory
infrastructure facilities and support in
establishing a national coordinated laboratory
mechanism, strengthening capacity building in plant
and animal disease identification, control, and
management; capacity building in disaster mitigation
for the livestock sector; production enhancement -
agricultural diversification and agro-industry
development of non-traditional commodities and
sustainable forest management.
Indeed, in the absence of a specific single
Agricultural Policy, the National Development
Strategy (NDS) 2001-2010 Policy Framework has
outlined a strategy of agricultural diversification
as one of the primary means of increasing rural
incomes, employment and foreign exchange and
reducing rural poverty. This strategy endorses focus
on production of non-traditional commodities for
local and export markets, thus expanding the
agricultural base of the economy. In addition to
national priorities, regional, hemispheric and
global agricultural and human development
initiatives provide a good and comprehensive
framework for defining agricultural development
objectives and strategies. Such is the case with the
CARICOM Jagdeo Initiative, which provides a
framework for addressing the issue of
competitiveness and the Hemispheric Summit of the
Americas AgroPlan 2015, which goes beyond
competitiveness issues, to define objectives and
priority focus areas for natural resource management
and environmental sustainability, social equity and
rural development and institutional strengthening.
These initiatives and the role of donor partners and
technical assistance agencies complement the State’s
capacity to address the critical issues identified
for agricultural development.
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1 Extracted from the National
Medium Term Priority Framework for FAO Assistance –
Guyana Draft document, 2006
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