Ministry of Agriculture through Guyana Marketing Corporation Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS)

Ministry of Agriculture through Guyana Marketing Corporation Agricultural Market Information System (AMIS) Presented by Nizam Hassan Kingston, Jamaica 13/3/08

Location of Guyana

BACKGROUND Guyana is a multi ethnic country Land mass 83,000 sq mls (215,000 sq km) Population 752,000 Rural urban ratio 70/30 Guyana s economy is well endowed with: Fertile agriculture lands; Available fresh water; Range of diversified mineral deposits; Significant acreage of tropical forest; Rich and exclusive economic fishery zone;

BACKGROUND (2) Agriculture - 32% GDP, 37% export earnings Employs about 1/3 of the labour force Guyana enjoys food security Main agricultural exports: Sugar - US$ 137 million; Rice US$ 75 million; (2007) Forestry US$61.5 million; (2007) Fish Products US$65 million; Other Crops & Livestock US$ 9.2 million. (2007)

History of Guyana Marketing Corporation Established in 1963 as a marketing corporation with the primary objective of ensuring food security; Guaranteed the purchase of all non-traditional agricultural production at guaranteed prices; Managed food processing facilities such as a milk pasteurizing plant, ham & bacon factory, carambola processing factory, etc;

History (cont d) From early to mid 80 s most business operations divested, sold or scrapped; 1985 the new Guyana Marketing Corporation came into being; Its main function being to improve market access by providing market and marketing information, market intelligence, etc;

History of data collection Agricultural commodities prices have been collected in Guyana for over forty years; For more than twenty years data was stored on paper; Data was stored electronically in the early 1990 s; Initially stored in excel spreadsheets; Now, being stored in database programme called FAO Agri-market;

FAO Agri-Market

FAO-AgriMarket FAO-AgriMarket version 3 is a Microsoft Access database for the management of market data. The programme automates the entry, processing, transmission, reporting and electronic diffusion of market data (prices and quantities of agricultural products and inputs). It thus reduces the time and effort required to manage large volumes of data, and increases the accuracy and speed with which various operations are performed

Functional Structure Guyana s AIMS is primarily managed by Guyana Marketing Corporation: Over the years it has focused on collecting: Farm gate prices Wholesale prices Retail prices Exports

Functional Structure Recently started collecting production data This data was initially collected by staff of the Ministry of Agriculture;

Current Status Data is collected for: fruits vegetables legumes Nuts meat Seasoning ground provisions

Current Structure The data collected informs on the prices and supplies at their respective collection points. The data collected comes from three points in the distribution channels. These are: the producer (farmer) the wholesaler the retailer

Current Status The prices are collected from the following areas across Guyana: Parika Farmer Parika Wholesale Market Anna Regina Wholesale Market Charity Wholesale Market New Amsterdam Wholesale Market Bourda Wholesale Market Stabroek Wholesale Market Bourda Retail Market Stabroek Markets

Methodology in data gathering In data gathering, the combination of personal contact, telephone contact and other means such as email, fax and others are used. Information from Producers is collected by personal contact by a data collection person who then sens that information to the Guyana Marketing Corporation via telephone. A similar process is undertaken for information that is collected from the Wholesaler, except in the cases for the Bourda and Stabroek Wholesale markets. At the both the Bourda and Stabroek Wholesale and Retail markets a Guyana Marketing Corporation officer is responsible for the physical collection of the raw data.

Data Processing and Value-Adding After the data is collected, it is inputted into the FAO AgriMarket software by a Marketing Officer at GMC The processing of information includes: Commodity Units Price

Data dissemination After input, relevant reports are printed and distributed to users; Ministry of Trade National newspapers; Farming Communities Exporters Planners

RESOURCES ANNUAL BUDGET (2008) G$ 47 m (CURRENT) GOG $43 m REVENUE TO BE EARNED $4M G$ 14 M (CAPITAL) RATE US$ 1. G$ 200.

STAFF (22) MANAGEMENT TEAM GENERAL MANAGER MANAGER PACKAGING FCILITIES MARKETING MANAGER ACCOUNTANT Market Analyst Senior Marketing Officer Marketing Officers (4)

Institution s expectations on becoming an MIOA member GMC expects that: It will be able to gain experience and knowledge on marketing best practices so that it can inform the sector that it represents in Guyana; It will be able to access training and trainers on marketing and other related marketing topics for its clients; It will be able to establish contacts with other Marketing institutions and as such will be able t access market opportunities for its clients;

Other Services of GMC Manages the Central Packaging Facility (fresh produce pack house); Provides export brokerage; Promotes Guyana s products by participating in trade fairs, exhibitions, etc, locally and internationally; Encourages Agro-business investment in Guyana and collaborates with the Guyana office for Investment to facilitate such investments;