CaribWorldNews, NEW YORK, NY, Tues. Mar. 4, 2008: Ethanol fuel is big business in a changing world and Guyana, despite its rising crime woes, is hoping to tap into the increase in demand for the new `gold.`

The country’s agriculture minister is in Washington this week, rubbing shoulders with other world ministers and private sector individuals gathered at the Washington International Renewable Energy Conference and the Inter-American Meeting of National Authorities and Experts on Energy for Sustainable Development.

And while Minister Robert Persaud realizes that the massacre of 23 in Guyana in less than a month - which made headline news around the world - may be a deterrent to investors, he remains optimistic that the South American nation, with its huge land mass and historical vested interest in sugar cane, can take advantage of the new wave of `green` around the globe and increasing interest in renewable energy.

I’m realistic, Persaud told CWN by phone last night from his Washington hotel room. But I remain optimistic that these meetings can bear fruit.

Already, he said, Guyana has 100,000 hectares of land set aside for the right investor who can make ethanol in the nation of less than a million a reality. And as the European Union continues to institute tougher rules on Guyana and the Caribbean’s sugar exports, Persaud said the country is slowly working on attracting investors to diversify to ethanol.

Not only is the land set aside in the Canje Basin for the growth of cane specifically for ethanol production, but the government remains hopeful that investors with the right resources can push the Guyana Sugar Corporation’s molasses production into ethanol fuel.

But the minister declined to put a date on when the fuel can become a reality in Guyana. Especially since the country’s Bharrat Jagdeo administration continues to grapple with criminal gangs who have slaughtered 11 people in Lusignan on the East Coast of Demerara and 12 at Bartica in the Essequibo.

Persaud, however, remains confident that security forces will be able to capture the gang of men, including wanted man Rondell Rollins.

Questioned about the ability of the force given the recent spate of unsolved crimes, Persaud said that while there has not been a major public announcement, the government has been receiving assistance from overseas, including Britain, especially to aid in intelligence gathering.

Asked whether the government will take steps of hiring actual British cops, as Jamaica has done, Persaud said he was unsure that the current administration would take such steps but they definitely have been appealing for resources and help to curb the violence.

And the minister dismissed claims that the government is ill-prepared to deal with the crime situation, claiming that arrests were made in the case of the Kaieteur killings and the murder of  Minister Sataydeo Sawh.

Questioned whether the gangs of criminals are linked to drug dealers, the minister said the gangs seem completely intent on robbing and killing `innocent and hard working people,` so he’s unsure that there’s any drug relation.

Persaud also dismissed claims that government’s focus on the area of Buxton is racially motivated. He insisted that the area’s backlands were serving as a haven for criminals, whom he described as having taken the villagers of Buxton hostage.

He said despite the criticism and claims of racism from people from `a far,` the government is focused on freeing villagers from the criminal elements in their midst and not destroying the village as the opposition party and other groups have claimed.

Meanwhile, Persaud said he was unaware of reports that Rollins is in Suriname. Reports on a popular Caribbean news site yesterday claimed Suriname police were tracking Rollins there following reports that he and his gang had entered the country via Berbice.

For the next two days, however, Persaud’s focus in Washington is selling Guyana, he said. A hard task but one he’s hopeful can be done with the right hand shake and the right meeting. Today he meets with U.S. Agriculture Secretary Ed Schafer in the hopes that the country, once viewed as the `bread basket of the Caribbean,` can increase its exports to U.S. soil as more and more agriculture land in the United States gets converted to ethanol production. - CaribWorldNews.com