By: Kelroy Williams
The Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo is an annual event that brings together industry leaders, policymakers and stakeholders to discuss the latest developments, challenges, and opportunities in the energy and supply chain sectors.
This year, the organisers have introduced a new event aimed at highlighting advancements in another of the country’s energetic sectors – agriculture.
This event is the Conference Village, which was officially launched on Monday.
Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo Kiana Wilburg noted that the event aligns with the government’s sustainable development agenda.
“This Conference Village is the first of its kind for us and it’s an important initiative. It serves three main purposes. The first is that it ensures that irrespective of the conversations we’re having about leveraging Guyana’s natural resources for a sustainable future, we must always ensure that our policy leaders, our stakeholders bear in mind that agriculture will remain at the forefront of Guyana’s diversification agenda,” the CEO said.
“The second is to ensure that stakeholders within Guyana’s agriculture industry have a broader market within which to showcase their capabilities and the products with which our beautiful country produces. And thirdly, as you are well aware, the Guyana Energy Conference is a hub for bringing international and regional experts and stakeholders within 26 industries and we want to showcase the potential of our farmers, our agro-processors and all those persons within the agricultural landscape. We want to ensure they are paired with the local partners who have the capabilities and we want to showcase the investment opportunities that are available in Guyana’s agricultural landscape,” Wilburg added.
Also present at the event was Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha who highlighted the importance of both the oil and gas and agriculture sectors in the country’s economy.
On this point, the minister noted that it is important for stakeholders to find avenues to link the two sectors.
“We want to merge the sectors within our country to show our potential and although oil and gas would have been a sector that is very attractive, the agriculture sector over the last four years has developed rapidly. We have seen agriculture, the growth in the agriculture sector has moved tremendously,” Mustapha remarked.
“Crops or commodities that the Caribbean normally import, we are now producing it in Guyana, things like corn and soya, the high value crops and we are catering for the oil and gas sector, for the hospitality industry…,” he added.
Moreover, he noted that with more than 4000 attendees registered for the Energy Conference and Expo this year, the Conference Village will present numerous business opportunities for the exhibitors.
There is no fee attached to attend the Conference Village, which is set up at the Seawall Esplanade.
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