Cattle farmers get trade, marketing help
Stabroek News
November 17, 2006
A team from the Washington, DC-based Farmer to Farmer programme met here with stakeholders in the agriculture sector to review the country's cattle industry.
In a press release, Partners of the Americas said volunteer and Marketing and Trade expert Kent Ayers, one of a five-member team met, from November 7 with officials from the Ministry of Agriculture, the National Dairy Development Project, the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Development, the National Agricultural Research Institute, the Guyana Dairy Development Project and representatives from the private sector to identify and improve problem areas in the industry.
The release said Ayers has worked in many capacities, for 22 years, with the United States (US) Department of Agriculture. His responsibilities included overseeing the marketing and management of livestock auctions, livestock marketing agencies and meat packers and supervising and reviewing livestock marketing facilities. He has also worked in countries such as Ethiopia, Macedonia and the Ukraine.
The group said the Farmer to Farmer programme brings together agricultural professionals and practitioners from the US and the Caribbean. US Volunteers work with farmers and agribusiness owners in Guyana, Haiti and Jamaica to identify local needs and design projects to address them. The programme aims to improve economic opportunities in rural areas of Latin America and the Caribbean by increasing food production and distribution, promoting better farm and marketing operations and conserving natural resources. It is supported by the US Congress and the US Agency for International Development.
Partners of the Americas was founded in 1964. The Guyana chapter, which is linked with the Mississippi, works on health, reproductive rights, emergency preparedness, agricultural and cultural and educational projects.