‘Lady Coco’ returns for Agri-Tourism Expo 2019

DPI, Guyana, Tuesday, October 22, 2019

The re-vamped ‘Lady Coco’ has returned to the spotlight. On Tuesday evening, the monument was unveiled for the Agri- Tourism Expo and Business Forum being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Also unveiled was the official logo of the event.

[In the photo, from left to right] Minister of Business, Hon. Haimraj Rajkumar with Debra Mattias cutting the ribbon along with Permanent Secretary attached to Ministry of Agriculture, Delma Nedd, Director-General at the Department of Tourism, Donald Sinclair.

‘Lady Coco’ monument stands outside the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.

Attending the opening was Minister of Business, Hon. Haimraj Rajkumar, Permanent Secretary attached to Ministry of Agriculture, Delma Nedd, Director-General at Department of Tourism, Donald Sinclair among other representatives.

In brief remarks, Sinclair noted that when the monument was first unveiled in 2016, it represented a “tree of Life”, today he said it could be considered as the “mother” behind the Agri-tourism initiative.

“Lady Coco has given “birth to the expo which plays an integral part of the introduction of an Agri-Tourism Sector in Guyana… It took a long time to construct Lady Coco and it took even longer time to refashion her and she is now back in business,” the Tourism Director-General said.

He also congratulated the three local artists – Gerald Gittens, Edward Lashley and Stanislaus Rodrigues, for the time spent restoring the monument.

Chief Technical Officer of the Ministry of Agriculture, George Jervis said the unveiling of the monument and logo “will serve as a permanent reminder of the start of our journey towards the development of the industry… Agri-tourism offers farmers the possibility of diversifying and generating additional income through activities to supplement their agriculture income and maintain the viability of farms and rural  communities.”

According to Jervis, the Agri-tourism sector can become the most transformative sub-sector in the country’s economy, paving the way for other potential areas such as culinary tourism and health and wellness tourism among others.

It was disclosed, following the conclusion of the expo and business forum, that the monument will be permanently erected in the compound of Ministry of Agriculture.

It is expected that with first-ever Agri- Tourism Expo and Business Forum, the thrust for the merging of tourism and agriculture will be a positive boost for both the farmers and the tour operators

The event is being held under the theme “Linking agriculture and tourism for a Green Economy”.