Guyana to set aside 200 acres of land for production of millet

– MoU to be inked with India for assistance in local coconut, rice, sugar and dairy sectors

In light of the United Nations declaring 2023 as the International Year of Millet (IYOM), President Dr Irfaan has offered some 200 acres of land in Guyana to be used for the cultivation and production of millets with the assistance of experts from India.

This was announced by the Guyanese Head of State during a meeting with India’s Union Minister of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, Narendra Singh Tomar, in New Delhi on Thursday.
President Ali asked the Indian Minister to send a team of experts to set up a millet farm in Guyana. Consequently, he reassured that the Guyana Government will extend all help needed in the production and promotion of millet in Latin American and Caribbean countries (LAC).
Further, the Guyanese leader also requested the presence of India’s Prime Minister, Narendra Modi, at the upcoming Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (Caricom) in February 2023 to present India’s vision on agriculture and food security. He noted that even a virtual address by PM Modi to the regional leaders will go a long way in promoting and popularising millets in the Caribbean.
The Guyanese President, who currently heads Caricom’s Sub-Committee on Agriculture and Food Security, has also invited Minister Tomar to visit Guyana as the Chief Guest at Caricom’s Agri Forum set for August this year. His keynote speech would focus on agriculture as a whole but millets in particular.
Minister Tomar, in his remarks during the meeting, said that the International Year of Millets 2023 will provide an opportunity to increase global production, efficient processing, and better use of crop rotation and promote millets as a major component of the food basket globally.
Currently, the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare in India is working in mission mode to increase millet production and consumption in collaboration with other Central Ministries, all State Governments, and other stakeholder organisations.
According to Minister Tomar, millets provide an alternative food system in times of increasing demand for vegetarian foods as it contributes to a balanced diet as well as a safe environment. He described millet as the gift of nature to mankind, adding that the goal is to have the grain take pride of place in every eating plate around the globe.
It was Prime Minister Modi who lobbied the UN to declare the year 2023 as the International Year of Millet.
The first crops of millets were cultivated in Asia and Africa, later spreading as an important food source for advanced civilisations around the world. With these two continents considered as the production and consumption centres for millet crops, the major producers of the grain are India, Niger, Sudan, and Nigeria.
Due to the low glycaemic index (GI) being gluten-free, it helps in a slower release of glucose over a longer period of time thus reducing the risk of diabetes mellitus. Millets are rich sources of minerals like calcium, iron, zinc, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium. It also contains appreciable amounts of dietary fibre and vitamins such as folic acid, vitamin B6, beta-carotene, and niacin. The availability of high amounts of lecithin is useful for strengthening the nervous system. Therefore, regular consumption of millets can help to overcome malnutrition.

Assistance from India
Meanwhile, during Thursday’s meeting, President Ali and Minister Tomar also discussed various issues related to technical and skilled manpower cooperation with Guyana in agriculture.
In fact, Guyana is seeking to benefit from Indian technology and skilled manpower in the field of agriculture and agro-processing industries to become the fulcrum of the agriculture eco-system in the Caribbean.
Recognising the achievements made by India in the field of agriculture, the Head of State outlined that Guyana benefits from arable lands, fresh water, and the right climatic conditions for agriculture. However, he noted its productivity is challenged by the lack of technology and human resource capacity. Discussions also centred around improving the efficiencies of GuySuCo’s operations.
The Guyanese leader further acknowledged the advancements made by India and its emergence as a global power in terms of skilled human resources, advanced technologies, and major policy decision matters.
He also sought advanced irrigation techniques and irrigation pumps from India to assist with flood prevention efforts here. On this note, President Ali added that India can help Guyana to set up climate-resistant and higher yield seed production of important crops like sugarcane and coconut, among others.
Further, the Head of State indicated that Guyana is ready to facilitate joint venture mechanisms for the dairy sector to India and Guyana’s private sector for exporting dairy products to the United States and other neighbouring countries and earning millions of dollars of Forex.
He added too that even the local horticulture sector offers huge opportunities and Indian expertise in the area can be tapped for a win-win for both countries.
Following discussions, it was agreed that a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) will be executed in one month, in which the Government of India has agreed to offer technological support and human resource skills and capacity building in four areas, namely, coconut, rice, sugar, and dairy.
Minister Tomar underlined that there is a huge potential for cooperation in the agriculture and agro-processing industry between India and Guyana. He said India, which has one of the largest research & development systems in agriculture in the world, will be happy to share its expertise and experience in developing the agricultural and allied sectors in Guyana.
As regards, the request for assistance made by the National Agricultural Research & Extension Institute of Guyana (NAREI) for developing and strengthening the coconut sector and for coconut germplasm from India, the Indian Council of Agricultural Research under his Ministry will support the country in these endeavours.
The Indian Minister told President Ali that food and agriculture are closely linked with climate change and India attaches high importance to the issue of climate change and global warming. As such, he pointed out that India is particularly conscious of the vulnerability of low-lying states as also Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean to the effects of climate change and assured that India stands behind such nations in mitigating the effects of climate change.
Minister Tomar further informed that India has launched the national innovations in climate resilient agriculture project, which aims at enhancing farmers’ resilience through implementation of climate-smart agricultural practices and development of climate resilient varieties of various crops. He added too that India is also promoting large scale organic farming and natural farming through various programmes at the national level to make agriculture sustainable, and offered all technical support to Guyana in promotion of natural farming to ward off the ills of chemical farm practices.