Guyanese urged to invest in agro-processing

…as Guyana ramps up food production activities

Guyana is well on its way to becoming a major food exporter for the Caribbean Community (Caricom) and countries in Latin America, as the production of food continues to increase.
In fact, President Dr Irfaan Ali announced last Saturday that legume production for 2024 increased by 106 per cent, peanuts increased by 286 per cent, coconut production saw an increase of 55 per cent, while ground provision and vegetables increase by an average of 218 per cent.

Additionally, Guyana intends to produce more than 60 per cent of its onion needs, in addition to corn, soya, feed, black-eyed peas and red beans and so save the country more than US$150 million annually in foreign exchange.
According to Chief Investment Officer and Head of the Guyana Office for Investment (GO-Invest), Dr Peter Ramsaroop, the export of these commodities will triple in the coming years and local companies must position themselves to benefit from this growth.
Ramsaroop believes that investing in agro-processing, specifically canning foods which Guyana has a ready market for, can maximise revenue in both the public and private sectors.
“So, they got to study the science. You know, for example, when you’re shipping watermelon, you have four watermelons of different sizes, it won’t fit in the box. And then by time it gets to the location, it’s bruised. And then nobody wants to pay for it. So, the Ministry of Agriculture is working with farmers and ensuring that they learn how to do things by science. And at the same time, why ship a heavy watermelon out where we can package it in cans and other materials… And so, we’ve got a big market to tackle. After the president finishes 25 per cent, we want to go after the other 75 percent,” Ramsaroop said.
The undertaking of traditional and non-traditional crops is all part of efforts geared towards Guyana and the Caribbean region achieving food security by the year 2025.
For Guyana, agro-processing holds the benefit for increased value of exports, reduction of importation of foreign substitutes, job creation and increased investment and enhanced food security, among other benefits.
Agro-processing is a true bread basket of the Caribbean with this approach and the continued hard work of farmers.
Ramsaroop said that GO-Invest and government agencies including the Small Business Bureau and Guyana Marketing Corporation are prepared to provide technical and analytical support to businesses desirous of venturing into agro-processing.
“Well, I mean, for example, by law, the Guyana Office for Investment is responsible for both investment and export promotion. So, one of our roles is to get those products into new markets, you know, help them with labeling, help them with, you know, working with Bureau of Statistics and the Guyana Marketing Corporation. So, it’s an integrated approach to get those products into the region and the wider world,” he added.
During 2024 budget, Finance Minister Dr Ashni Singh had announced that Government plans to pump $97.6B into agriculture in 2024. This is on the back of a strong performance in agriculture last year.
The sector recorded a growth of seven percent after the sum of $60.4 billion was spent therein for its stimulation and invigoration. The performance is attributed to increases across all sub-sectors; namely, other crops, rice-growing, livestock, fishing, sugar-growing, and forestry.
In delivering his budget presentation, the finance minister noted that huge investments would be made in the subsectors of sugar, rice, other crops, corn and soya, coconut, citrus, and spices; as well as agro-processing, livestock, fisheries and aquaculture.
For 2023, the sugar industry grew by 28 per cent while it declined by 11.8 per cent in 2019. Rice expanded in 2023 by seven per cent while there was a mere one per cent increase in 2019. The other crops sector grew by 4.1 per cent in 2023, while there was a meagre growth of 0.3 per cent in 2019.
The livestock industry increased by 12.7 per cent in 2023 while 2019 recorded a decline of 3.5 per cent. In 2023, Guyana’s fishing industry increased by 37.8 per cent and 25 per cent in the aquaculture sector. (G1)