Georgetown: Guyanese academics, Dr Paloma Mohamed and Professor Suresh Narine are two of the four awardees of the prestigious Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards. The Anthony N Sabga Caribbean Awards is the only programme in the Caribbean which seeks and rewards outstanding nominees in Arts and Letters, Public and Civic Contributions, and Science and Technology, and as of 2015, Entrepreneurship.
Professor Narine, during his acceptance speech, highlighted that there is a lack of regional leadership within the Caribbean Community (Caricom). He regrettably noted that the outstanding Jagdeo Initiative on Agriculture and Food Security, a strategy developed for removing constraints to the development of agriculture in the Caribbean, is no longer in progress. “The Jagdeo Initiative…has disappeared into the void created by a lack of regional leadership within Caricom,” Narine stated.
He pointed out that Caricom’s net food import bill is in excess of US$4.5 billion where in Trinidad and Tobago, the food import bill is US$950 million, and Jamaica, the food import bill is close to US$1 billion.
Additionally, he noted that the region spends nearly US$500 million on imported rice and sugar, even as Guyana struggles to find markets for its rice.
“And so, despite the demand, Guyana, Suriname and Belize, with large tracts of arable land, significant fresh water resources and low population densities remain relatively undeveloped with regards to their vast agricultural potential,” Narine asserted.
Moreover, he said the region receives less than one per cent of the world’s foreign direct investment, and other than for Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname, it has a crippling dependence on imported fuel.
“Yet, we do not have a regional strategy for alternative, green sources of energy. The vast potential of hydropower in Guyana and Suriname could benefit significantly from regional investments and regional supply agreements for electricity, to the benefit of energy security for many of the neighbouring states,” Narine lamented.
He further stressed on the significant potential of science and technology in providing quantum improvements in the lives of Caribbean people.
“There is an urgent need to promote a culture of scientific entrepreneurship, and a concomitant and urgent need for the region to continue to improve the way it handles intellectual property…I firmly believe that our region’s science and technology portfolio should be heavily focused on technology transfer and the harnessing of science and technology for development and well-being of our people. Even as we pursue technologies appropriate to our particular circumstances, critical mass cannot be accomplished without pooling our regional resources,” Narine underscored.
Narine added that much more needs to be done in integrating the universities across the region.
While emphasising this urgent need, Narine recognised that the Caribbean Examinations Council (CXC) stands as a living, successful example of embracing regional standards in education.
Professor Narine is a bio-technologist and Director of the Institute of Applied Sciences and Technology (IAST) in Guyana and a Professor at Trent University in Canada. His work in Guyana and Canada has created the rare bridge between scientific research and commercial application, and in many cases, lessened environmental impact.
Meanwhile, Dr Mohamed in her acceptance speech spoke about the lack of arts within the region. “Today’s artists inhabit a world in which support for the arts is dwindling,” she lamented.
Dr Mohamed pointed out that those in the Caribbean, especially young creative people, are generally without platforms from which to launch, without successful indigenous role models and mentors, supportive structures and training opportunities, without links to businesses and substantial documentation of success stories.
“I am often saddened and deeply disturbed by the misunderstanding that the arts are not important. I want nothing more than to see this erroneous perception and the poor conditions it engenders for artists change for the better,” she said as she vowed to help others to achieve their goals.
Dr Mohamed is the Dean of the University of Guyana’s Faculty of Social Sciences and is one of the most prolific academics in communication, behavioural studies and creative writing (playwright, script-writer and poet) in the region.
Dr Mohamed has written and had performed more than 30 plays, and published two collections of poetry with a third expected this year. She has also branched into film, and has been executive producer on 32 films.
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