Cooperation to Assist Suriname’s Forest Communities

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On October 8, 2015, Suriname’s Ministry of Agriculture, Cattle Breeding, and Fisheries and the Amazon Conservation Team Suriname signed a three-year collaboration agreement. In the context of the agreement, ACT and the Ministry will work together to improve food safety, food security, and income generation in southern Suriname, with the Ministry committing its expertise.

Ministry Director Djoemadie Kasanmoesdiran and ACT Suriname Director Minu Parahoe signing the agreement. Click to enlarge

The Ministry director, Djoemadie Kasanmoesidiran, explained the agreement’s benefit to the government and the interior villages.  “We can really use the support for our initiatives. The government of Suriname places emphasis on agriculture, so that will also include agriculture in southern Suriname. One of the problems in achieving this is the high cost of air transport; this will be solved immediately through the cooperation agreement with ACT. ACT provides the transport to the villages and we provide the expertise. This is a win-win for the communities.”

“This is so important for the communities in southern Suriname,” agreed ACT Suriname Director Minu Parahoe. “We have consulted with the communities, and with their input created a list of agricultural development goals that they consider important. It is quite clear that low yields of cassava due to rotting and attack by leafcutter ants are a major problem; the Ministry has in-house expertise that can help with this. I believe that we can attain good results by working together. The Ministry can take advantage of our logistics in our work areas in southern Suriname – from our staff to our boats.”

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