BVI businessman offers support for agro-studies in Guyana
Labour Minister, Lorna Smith, said a local businessman has expressed an interest in partially funding tuition for local students interested in pursuing agricultural studies in Guyana.
Smith gave that indication at a press conference recently following her return from a successful trade mission in Guyana where she was accompanied by a contingent of BVI government and private sector officials.
According to the Deputy Premier, Tony Alphonso, a businessman who also has deep roots going back several decades in Guyana, generously offered to partially fund a scholarship to the Guyana School of Agriculture to increase such expertise in the territory.
Smith said the BVI has had a long relationship with Guyana and indicated that her team was able to build on that foundation during its recent mission.
Junior Minister for Agriculture, Dr Karl Dawson, who also commented on the educational initiative, said Alphonso demonstrated a positive step in making the gesture and expressed hope that his efforts could be replicated by others in the community.
“Hopefully, he will lead the way among others in supporting the group of human resources in this sector,” Dr Dawson said.
Smith further indicated that the trade mission to Guyana netted in a number of tangible returns for the territory, including discussions on how the BVI could replicate Guyana’s Low Carbon Development Strategy in it’s ocean conservation efforts.
“We’ve examined how Guyana is moving towards a low carbon economy – which will assist us in our own journey. We’ve established links to benefit our own economy and especially our agricultural sector, and we’ve reinforced our relationship with one of the leading and largest members of CARICOM,” Smith said
There have also been discussions related to the BVI establishing a permanent presence in Guyana, with the BVI also actively considering the lifting of visa restrictions over Guyanese nationals to the territory.
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Pure talk! Must be Lorna and Karl would be taking up that scholarship to go Guyana. They two of them need to go there and don’t come back.
Who Toney? Give me a break!
publish all these Guyana articles on a Guyana media website. There are more important issues in the BVI for reporters in the BVI.
Why the studies cannot be done here?
The only thing this woman speaks about every day is Guyana.
Do we have the land and water for then to farm at the scale needed to be successful?
Maybe hydroponic can be successful. Should we be looking at helping to train people to do this? But this should be a private business and not government run. There are things the government can do to give them a fighting chance.
This is what you get when you vote in a tired 70 yr old with no experience and give her a huge role that requires a younger person’s energy. These ass clowns brigade politicians need to go
This Guyana trip was nothing but a waste of time.
Typical rubbish but you know something let the voters take them licks. You get your ole girl in you corner. Nothing new here. Nothing but grandstanding. The voters stupidity and envy cause all this. You get the best talker to foreigners good that will make the bread. This is the height of stupidness.
Time and money.
Thanks much Mr. Alphonso for your generous support towards this important venture. Now the first set of students should be ALL the members of the VIP so that at least if and when they return in the next 8 years, the BVI would have already grasped the concept of progression.
A form of Outsourcing and an excuse to bring in so call Experts.
The old a** politicians ain’t going no where but to the bank with alyo dumb a** money…
The whole Guyana thingmasquarading as policy driven is so clearly a sharade.
Nothing concrete in the territory’s interest has surfaced or materialized yet.
Nothing of any economic value towards further growth is evident.
Virgin Islanders claimed they wanted and thus voted for change, but they still voted the same paradigm of corruption and self enrichment..
They voted for individual who have nohygiene in their political dealings. Such is so very obvious.
The blame must be placed right at the foot of the voters, not Lorna or any of them…
Who should have been elected was thrown out, so we should not be complaining..
We will never get the government we need. Thereare to many things that is prohibiting that from occuring.
Because Guyana have a special school for Agriculture. The name is mentioned in the article Guyana school of Agriculture
So Guyanese Tony Alphonso, who Brother DA was deported from here … is magically popping up in supporting sending people to Guyana?
Which local Virgin Islander wants to go Guyana for anything? For God in heaven’s sake stop the madness!
Guyana have the type of rocky land and hill types we have? No! They have flat arrid land with Jhon’s soil for agriculture. BVI does not! So why we going to an airplane dealer to learn how to ride a bike? It makes no sense!
This whole Guyana things is hogwash. There is a hidden agenda somewhere that has not been brought to the surface! Even Guyanese people should be alarmed and start questioning this move by Lorna.
Why she didn’t tell us the actual tangible and reeeal purpose of going Guyana before they left the BVI? Why they didn’t layout a 3-point set of clear goals so we the People could have a clear rationale for why Guyana?
There is more in the batter than icing water and flour, my people! Watch out for the rotten eggs!
This is making no sense right now. It is wonderful that someone is willing to give a scholarship, however, has Lorna been to pariquita bay and had a look at the government’s facilities! Has she even evaluated agriculture as a whole in the BVI. I suggest she finds a much needed area for that scholarship. The real bvi farmers do not have degrees in agriculture. They have the will to eat well and make a living from what they do well. They cry every day about needing a steady supply of water and this falls on deaf ears.
Guyana’s oil has lorna head spinning. She needs to market the bvi and let the chips fall where they may. Jamaica has bauxite how come she is not visiting there? She needs to focus on the real issues in the BVI.