Guyana’s thriving agriculture sector gains global recognition

…country producing all the food it needs

Guyana’s thriving agriculture sector has recently gained global attention following a research study which placed Guyana at the top of the global leader board, listing the country as the only one in the world that can self-sufficiently feed all its citizens.
The study, published in Nature Food, investigated how well each country could feed their populations in seven food groups: fruits, vegetables, dairy, fish, meat, plant-based protein and starchy staples.
According to the study, out of 186 countries, only Guyana produces enough food to self-sufficiently feed all its citizens without foreign imports. Worldwide, the study found that 65 percent of countries were overproducing meat and dairy, compared to their own population’s dietary needs.
According to new research, Guyana was the only country that could boast total self-sufficiency, while China and Vietnam were close behind, being able to produced enough food in six out of the seven food groups.
Just one in seven of the tested countries were judged self-sufficient in five or more categories. At the same time, there was a global shortfall in nutrient-dense plants, with less than half of countries involved in the study producing enough plant-based protein – such as beans, chickpeas, lentils, nuts and seeds, or starchy carbs, and only 24 percent growing enough vegetables.
Over the last few years, Guyana has been working to transform its food security efforts, while increasing interventions to provide farmers with more access to local and regional markets for their agricultural produce. Last September, Guyana had reached a major milestone in the fight against hunger, with undernourishment levels falling below 2.5 percent.
Statistics also show that this figure was significantly lower than the regional average of 6.6 percent and the global average of 9.1 percent, which ultimately positions Guyana as a leader in food security across the Caribbean and Latin America.
During a high-level dialogue: Reflections on the fight against hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha highlighted the country’s success in reducing hunger, attributing it to deliberate interventions.
In addition to reducing undernourishment, Mustapha highlighted that Guyana has made substantial progress in addressing food insecurity. While the new figure is an improvement in comparison to previous times, Mustapha acknowledged that it still means that many Guyanese are affected by food insecurity. He also emphasised that Guyana’s strategy is built around two main goals: expanding the agricultural sector, and becoming a leading exporter of agricultural products within the Region. These initiatives fall under the Vision 25 by 2025 plan, which aims to reduce Caricom’s food import bill by 25 percent by the year 2025.
Moreover, this year Guyana’s agriculture was significantly boosted with $104.6 billion allocated in the 2025 National Budget for the industry. An allocation of $430.9 million has been set aside for rice in 2025. This investment will see a number of new initiatives being developed to further increase the country’s production.
To support the cultivation of other crops, $2.9 billion has been budgeted by the government. These crops include corn and soya, spices, citrus and other high-value crops such as broccoli and cauliflower.
In addition, the coconut industry has been a bolstering force to the agriculture sector, and as such, $116 million has been put aside for this initiative. Moreover, to ensure the easy manufacturing of agricultural products, a sum of $800 million was allocated for the agro-processing industry.
In terms of livestock, the government has budgeted $1.7 billion to boost the business. Meanwhile, a staggering $1.3 billion will go towards the development of the fisheries and aquaculture sector. This will see 80 additional brackish water shrimp ponds being constructed in Region Six and 50 more fishing cages installed.