Fulfilling agri potential

The article, “The Global Food Crisis” by Brazilian activist Ruben Bauer Naveira, is a timely reminder on the need for us to get behind Pres Irfaan Ali’s focus on making the development of our agricultural potential the key diversification plank to prepare for a future after our oil is depleted. Naveira argues that disruptions to fuel, fertiliser and shipping can undermine food production long before consumers see empty shelves. Farmers facing expensive or unavailable inputs may plant less and the consequences will arrive arrive months later. However, his gravest predictions should be treated as warnings that we ought to factor into our planning rather than certainties that should deter us. But the underlying lesson deserves attention – money alone cannot guarantee food security when the systems producing and delivering food come under simultaneous strain.
For us in Guyana, this presents both a vulnerability and an opportunity since we have land, water, agricultural experience and, through petroleum revenues, an exceptional opportunity to finance productive investment. President Ali’s ambition to make Guyana a major supplier of food to the Caribbean – extending the “25 x 25” strategy – therefore has a compelling strategic basis. The question before us is how effectively we can turn those advantages into dependable supplies at affordable prices.
Pres Ali’s government deserves credit for putting substantial resources behind that ambition. Its reported G$113.2 billion agricultural allocation for 2026 includes investment in drainage, irrigation, roads and other infrastructure while the expansion into corn and soya also offers a practical route towards strengthening the domestic livestock-feed supply chain in a strategic move to garner the benefits of large-scale integrated farming.
But an allocation is the beginning of the work whose success must be measured in functioning drainage, lower production costs, reliable harvests, better farm incomes and prices households can afford. Water management remains fundamental since we face risks from both flooding and drought and agricultural expansion must be planned around those realities. As we are finding out in another area of national life right now, maintenance is key – here with water storage, soil management and timely weather advice that will derine the parameters of our success.
While we up our agricultural output, we have to also examine precisely what inputs our domestic production still require from abroad. A locally grown crop, for instance, can remain vulnerable to imported fertiliser, machinery parts, chemicals and fuel and as such, government and industry should identify critical supplies, diversify their sources and assess sensible reserves. Our research and extension services must be expanded to help farmers use inputs more efficiently without sacrificing yields.
The small farmer must have a secure place in this transformation and the affordable finance now provided by the GDB must be supplemented with dependable leases, shared machinery, practical technical assistance and prompt payments to make investment worthwhile. Public institutions can provide the nucleus of predictable markets through transparent purchasing arrangements. The government recognizes that production must also be matched by preservation and distribution and the cold storage, drying facilities, processing and dependable transport already launched must be expanded for the new acreage.
Our regional ambition also requires equally practical cooperation since Caribbean buyers need consistent quality, predictable quantities and delivery schedules. Purchasing agreements, workable shipping services and compatible food-safety requirements must be implemented with our neighbours. But in tandem with our ecological ambitions, expansion should respect forests, water resources and Indigenous land rights and environmentally aware use of suitable land and higher productivity should guide decisions.
Above all, food security must include the ability of our local population to buy nutritious food since export earnings and production records will offer little comfort to families struggling to fill a market basket. Policy should reward productive farmers while protecting vulnerable consumers as in the proposed farmers’ markets.
Oil has given us the means to build a stronger agricultural economy and the global food warning gives us a reason to move with purpose. Our lasting achievement would be to turn a temporary petroleum windfall into fertile fields, viable farms and affordable meals – long after the wells have ceased flowing.