Region Five Chamber of Commerce aims to boost regional agri. sector
The recently resuscitated Region Five Chamber of Commerce aims to promote agriculture. The Regional Sub-Committee of the Private Sector Commission (PSC) works to promote private sector development and engagement across Guyana.
The Chamber had been inactive for some time owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.
PSC Chairman Paul Cheong said, “Because of COVID, they weren’t able to have physical meetings, and my information is that when they tried to do the virtual meetings, they had difficulties because up there, they have lots of issues with internet and connectivity and so on.”
The newly elected Executive Member of the resuscitated Region Five Chamber of Industry & Commerce held their first meeting since re-establishment on August 25.
Discussions surrounded access to financing for agriculture development, local content, telecommunication, and skills development.
Cheong said, “We had an engagement with them and West Berbice in an agriculture area, meaning they do a lot of rice cultivation, sheep rearing, and cattle farming along with cash crops, so yeah, they’re working on those areas. I know the government had earmarked through the Ministry of Agriculture the black belly sheep project for that area.”
Guyana is set to receive approximately 1000 sheep from Barbados in an initiative to allow the Caribbean to develop its own brand, replacing the New Zealand and Australian lamb imported.
This undertaking is also expected to reduce the region’s food import bill by 25 percent come 2025. The first flock of Black Belly sheep landed on Guyana’s shore at the Rambaran Wharf, Georgetown, on August 4.
President of the Region Five Chamber, Niron Singh, said the Chamber looks forward to continued dialogue with the Commission as it implements activities for private sector development.
The newly elected Region Five Chamber includes Chairman of the Regional Sub-Committee Krishnandan Jaichand, Vice President Hardatt Malchan, Secretary Imran Sacoor, Business Liaison Officer Krishna Sewlall, and Treasurer Tage Singh.
