Minister of Agriculture Hon Israel R Bruce has stressed the need for Public Private Partnership (PPP) to strengthen and grow the Agriculture Industry in this country, calling on international agencies such as the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) and others to use their influence to help Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
Making an intervention at a discussion held at the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD) Conference of Parties (COP) 17 meeting being held in Mongolia, Minister Bruce sort clarification on how can entities like the FAO and other similar counterparts use their reputation to help bridge that particular gap, because that assistance is needed.
Minister said even at the regional level, it is difficult to find investors who are willing to talk about investments in agriculture.
To strengthen his point, Minister Bruce cited a recent experience he has at a regional engagement in Barbados at an investment forum for the Caribbean in agriculture.
“In as much as you’ve taken several projects proposals to go into the discussion chambers and the project pipelines and so forth, even at that regional level, it was difficult to find investors who are willing to talk about investments in agriculture.”
The minister added: “So where as I have farmers who are depending on value addition projects that we are currently conceptualising in different parts of the country to move that thought, that concept from being a concept to something realistic that will drive market for our farmers which is one of the fundamental challenges that our farmers do have, we need investment, we need private sector investment.”
He stated that his government has taken the philosophical position that the economy of the country is so tight that government, in as much as it wants to, cannot respond to the needs of the farmers as it doesn’t have all the possibilities, particularly finances to inject as it wishes.
“Classically, we need an Abattoir on our island, an abattoir is gonna (going to) cost us a hefty amount of money, how do we find the private sector investment when the private sector says but based on your scale of production, what is the profitability of this investment. How long does it take us to see returns on our investments,” he lamented.
Minister Bruce concluded that these are concerns that plague the very small private sector that the island has adding that it goes back to the question, how does international entities help to salvage what is the challenge with PPP.
Conference of the Parties (COP17) to the UNCCD takes place from August 17 to 28, in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, under the theme “Restoring Land. Restoring Hope” with focus areas on Combating desertification, land degradation, and drought.
