Massive agricultural development for Region 1 – Agri Minister

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha told resident of Kumaka, Wauna, Kamwatta and White Water in Region One (Barima-Waini) on Tuesday that the region was set to undergo a number of developments in the agriculture sector.
Among these developments is the establishment of an agro-processing facility in Mabaruma. He said it was a great investment as it would add value to farmers’ produce.

“What we’ll be doing now across the country, we are now building agro-processing facilities. Right here in Mabaruma we’ll be building a new agro-processing facility for you here. Your crops, we’ll make it more value-added instead of taking the crops from the farm and go straight to the market, you’ll take your crops to the agro-processing facility,” the Minister said.
He added that the region would also receive two tractors and an excavator to help in the maintenance of farms, roads, and other agriculture-related infrastructure in the area.

“Comrades, we have to change… if we’re farming on the swamps, we have to move out of the swamp area, if we are farming on the lowland area, we’ll have to empolder those areas. And because of that, I’ve promised the chairman that within one month from now I’ll be sending a new machine here to Mabaruma so that you can have the empolderment done and that machine will remain in your community to do works right across the region.
“What we will be doing also… before the year is out, in Region One, through our Ministry, we’ll be receiving two large tractors with implements. The two tractors will have grass planters, harrows, ploughs and that will be based in the region and that will be used to help people,” Mustapha related.
The Minister said the Ministry would establish an agriculture office in the region which will see officers from various fields catering to the region’s agricultural needs.

Meanwhile, he committed to offering two scholarships for youths in the White-Water community to attend the Guyana School of Agriculture, noting that it was important for residents to be trained in the sector and return to their communities to assist farmers in various ways.
While in that community, the Minister also committed to two shade houses for villagers. He said farming could no longer be done the traditional way, as climate change has affected weather patterns.
He noted that the farmers who suffered losses as a result of the recent floods would shortly receive flood relief grants from the Government to assist them in getting back to their lands.
“Each and every person who would have suffered losses because of the floods, whose farms were destroyed, whose garden was destroyed, we will try as much as possible to reach out to them to give them some form of flood relief and the flood relief will take the form of monetary relief from the Government. So, every farmer that suffer losses will have not less than $50,000,” the Minister.
Residents of Kamwatta raised concerns about markets for their produce and requested the Minister’s intervention.
The Minister committed to informing the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) of the situation, to resolve the issue.
He noted that Government would continue to make the necessary investments in the agriculture sector, which remains one of the most important sectors to Guyana. Seeds, planting materials, tools, and pumps were also donated to the villagers of each community.