Govt propelling agri projects for hinterland so that no one is “left behind” – Jagdeo

…eyes nursery, direct export from Reg 1

In light of the oil boom and countless opportunities for the coast, the Government is taking bold steps to propel agriculture in the hinterland in ensuring that these communities benefit from national development.
Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo disclosed that as Guyana leads the food security agenda in the Caribbean, simultaneous efforts are being made at bolstering the country’s agricultural sector, especially for the benefit of hinterland communities.
This is having realised that remote communities will be disenfranchised in benefitting from oil.
“It’s unique to the hinterland. Those communities can’t do much with oil and gas. That is why we have to push agri-investment so that the people who live in these regions are not left behind in the remote regions of the country. We want all of our people to move forward in every region,” he indicated at Thursday’s press conference.
In Region One (Barima-Waini), a nursery is being considered to produce plantain ‘suckers’ after residents have complained of the high costs for one sprout.
However, the Vice President noted that this is just the beginning. The intention is to export from the region directly to the Caribbean, avoiding competition with coastal prices.
For this, he added that Government is willing to invest in facilities or enter a co-investment venture to get it done.
“The Government is prepared to put the investment in, even co-investing in processing facilities with businesses. If they produce the stuff, we can co-invest with someone to get this done…We’re looking to establish a major nursery there and so the Ministry of Agriculture will go there and see if we can upgrade certification so our products can sail directly into the Caribbean from these areas without having to come to the coast. The coast can’t be a market for their plantain. They will face serious competition from growers who are producing on the coast already,” Jagdeo noted.
In April, the MV MA LISHA ferry – built at a cost of US$12.7 million – was officially commissioned to ply the North-West, Region One, (Barima-Waini), and Georgetown route. President Irfaan Ali had shared that the vessel would serve as an important conduit for trade between Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago and by extension, the wider Caribbean Region.
As part of the local drive towards enhancing food production, the Government is fostering discussions with foreign counterparts. In the case of India, they are looking at spices, and doubling rice and sugar output.
“The local component is to enhance production and productivity in our agricultural sector and also to expand the range of products that we are now producing and exporting. We have resumed all the discussions we have had with India on developing all the spices and greater productivity in the rice sector and sugarcane – maybe even doubling the output in these sectors,” Ali had explained.
As the Guyana Government seeks to modernise the sugar industry and restore it to a state of profitability, President Ali recently noted that efforts are underway to establish a nursery with the aim of enhancing the cultivation of sugarcane. The Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) is pegged to produce some 60,000 tonnes of sugar by the end of 2023 with the aim of increasing this to 100,000 tonnes in the new year.
One of the greatest challenges within the sector is the cultivation of sugarcane plants, and he confirmed that the country would be tapping into the expertise of bilateral partners to help with expanding its cultivation.
India has long offered technical expertise to enhance the local sugar industry, including the use of tissue culture to get better cane yields. More recently, Guatemala also expressed interest in lending support for sugar and GuySuCo. Guatemala is the second-largest exporter of sugar in Latin America, and the fifth-largest exporter in the world.
Another Latin American nation, the Dominican Republic, has also indicated its willingness to provide assistance to Guyana’s sugar industry.