Mining and agricultural assistance from Chile to Guyana

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─ Chilean Ambassador pays courtesy calls on State and Public Service Ministers 

By Isaiah Braithwaite 

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, May 22, 2019

Chile has committed to giving much-needed assistance to Guyana in the areas of mining and agriculture.

The commitment came as Chilean Ambassador to Guyana, Patricio Marshall made courtesy visits earlier today, to Minister of State, Dawn Hastings-Williams and Minister of Public Service, Tabitha Sarabo-Halley.

Finding alternatives to the extraction of gold without the use of mercury, which is having adverse effects on miners as well as the environment, is of great concern to the government. The administration is also concerned about the impact on the livelihood of those in the hinterland and its environs.

While the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have been playing their roles in trying to find alternatives, there is still need for assistance.

“When we are asking them [miners] to stop using mercury to extract gold, we have to find alternative ways by which we can assist them, and that is where we look to countries like Chile, which are more advanced in the mining areas, to assist us,” Minister Hastings-Williams related.

In discussions between Ambassador Marshall and Minister Sarabo-Halley, the need for more scholarships in the area of agriculture, to help Guyana make more use of its produce, was raised. Currently, there is one person pursing a degree in fisheries while two others will depart to pursue degrees in food science, in September.

“In fisheries and food science, with these degrees, it is going to the next level in terms of food and agriculture. We are not just producing the crop to export but [looking at] how we use the crops that we are growing to now diversify and use them in different ways and food sciences allows us to do that,” underscored Minister Sarabo-Halley.

The degree programmes will help Guyana move a one step closer to in the direction of secondary and tertiary agricultural production. The degree programmes are also the first of this magnitude to be offered by Chile, and the minister hopes that it be expanded over time.

July 22 will make it 48 years of formal diplomatic relations between Guyana and Chile established in 1971. Bilateral ties were increased in 2015 with the opening of the Embassy of Chile located in Georgetown.

Images: Marceano Narine.

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