Discussions with investor into agro-processing facility well advanced – Ali

…investment to create opportunities for hundreds of farmers

Discussions between the Government of Guyana and an investor into Guyana’s agro-processing sector are well advanced and according to President Dr Irfaan Ali, there will be a number of sustainable opportunities for hundreds of farmers coming out of this partnership.
The President made this revelation during Wednesday’s opening of the SBM office. According to President Ali, he had only just concluded discussions with the investor. In fact, Ali said that the investor was on board and planned to invest capital in setting up infrastructure related to the dairy sector.

“…I just concluded a meeting with an investor in the agricultural sector. And the investor said to me, ‘listen, we’re going to put all the facilities for yogurt, cheese, milk products and everything’,” President Ali said.
“But we also have, as part of the investment plan, an investment to regenerate the dairy industry and milk production. But we want to hand this document over to the Government and the local farmers to be part of the project. That would create very viable, sustainable opportunities for about 100 farmers, at what I consider to be a very moderate investment portfolio.”
Earlier this year, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest) and a Canada-based company named Amaya Milk Company.
It had been announced that a milk pasteurisation facility would be constructed soon and that some $85 million has already been spent on the necessary equipment to outfit the facility. Additionally, it had been explained that the company would initially produce whole milk and two per cent milk, followed by flavoured milk.
It was also announced in August that a feasibility study for the establishment of a commercially-viable dairy farming operation is currently being undertaken by Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) and LR Group of Israel.
The companies said that the operation’s design would see to the supply of fresh cows’ milk to DDL’s Tropical Orchard Products Company Limited (TOPCO) milk plant for pasteurisation and packaging.
Currently, TOPCO is testing the production and packaging of reconstituted milk, which is scheduled to be commercially launched later this month. The study, however, is being undertaken to determine the feasibility of transitioning to the pasteurisation of fresh cows’ milk.
The feasibility study and definition of the scope of the project are scheduled for completion in early 2022.
Moreover, the study forms part of an MoU that was signed between the two companies in June 2020, which provides for collaboration in the development of a dairy farming operation that would include local dairy farmers.
Additionally, the MoU provides for the implementation of strategies to increase the supply of fruits and vegetables from local farmers through the provision of support services that promote best practices in crop selection, cultivation, disease control, harvesting, packaging and transportation to DDL’s TOPCO plant at Diamond, East Bank Demerara (EBD).
Furthermore, the MoU provides for joint pursuance of other commercially-viable projects in Guyana, and the Caribbean Community (Caricom) at large that fit into the development priorities of member states, and the region’s efforts to reduce its food import bill and ensure food security.
It had also been announced that a technical team from Israel was expected to visit Guyana early next year to assess and make recommendations on land selection for the dairy farm and a structure for the participation of private farmers in the process. Thereafter, the feasibility study will be finalised.
Israel is considered a global leader in the agricultural sector, including dairy farming, and the project is being designed to utilise best practices and the latest state-of-the-art technology. (G3)