A commitment to youth

─ Min. Adams-Yearwood pledges full support of Agri-Ministry to develop young Agro-Processors

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, July 2, 2019

“I promise I am going to throw the Ministry of Agriculture behind you, whatever we can do to help you improve, I want to see each of these companies, I want to see their products in the Guyana Shop and every supermarket in Guyana.”

Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Valerie Adams-Yearwood gave this assurance during her visit to an Agro-processing Exhibition conducted in the auditorium of the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) in Mon Repos.

The minister was most impressed with and wished to highlight Dawn Daw from the village of Orealla.

“What I learnt is that, even before she left Orealla, her intention was to promote the pineapples that they have bountifully, and she has come up with a wonderful product with the help of all the lecturers.”

The exhibition is a means for those students graduating from the Agro-processing Course to be able to display what products they have been working on during their time at the institution. All the items on display are not only made right here in Guyana but utilise ingredients sourced right here as Grace Parris, Manager of the Agro-Processing department, explains: “All that you see here today are local materials, nothing is foreign because I encouraged the students to invest in our own economy”

Parris further explained that this is the largest batch of agro-processors ever to undergo the course at the institution. Many of the students from this class have already taken steps to have their businesses registered and are being aided by the lecturers at the institution in drafting business proposals as part of the overall course.

Budding agro-processor, Akailah Gordon shares a moment of embrace with Minister Valeri Adams-Yearwood.

Manager of the Agro-processing department, Grace Parris.

[In the photo, from left to right], Dawn Daw from Orealla proudly showcases her pineapple fruit snack to Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, with responsibility for Rural Affairs, Valerie Adams-Yearwood.

Backing up her commitment to ensuring the budding agro-processors get every chance they can to make a start for their business, Minister Adams-Yearwood invited representatives from the Linden Enterprise Network (LEN) to engage with the students and help them in applying for any loans that they may need.

Images: Giovanni Gajie