MoU signed for Cuba to provide Guyana with technical support in honey production

– 200 beekeepers to benefit from Cuban expertise

Guyana and Cuba have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) that will see Cuba sharing its knowledge and expertise in the agriculture industry including in beekeeping, as part of an initiative that will benefit over 200 local beekeepers around the country.
The MoU was signed on Saturday, on the sidelines of the 2023 Agri Expo at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown. Director General of the Agriculture Ministry, Madanlall Ramraj and Cuban Ambassador to Guyana, Jorge Francisco Luis signed the agreement.
In his remarks, Ramraj spoke highly of Cuba’s agricultural setup and how much Guyana can learn from it. According to him, the exchange of knowledge will be especially beneficial to efforts to slash Caribbean Community (Caricom) food imports by 25 percent by 2025.
“Guyana forests have a great potential for apiary culture. If exploited, it can create employment and sustainable income for the population residing in the hinterland areas. Guyana has several hectares of land that is mostly unserved, with respect to beekeeping.”
“And provide tremendous potential for the expansion of the apiary industry. And will allow for the increase in the production of honey for the 25 by 2025 initiative, allowing Guyana to be an exporter of honey in Caricom.”
Meanwhile, the Cuban Ambassador described the initiative as an important occasion for bilateral ties between Guyana and Cuba. Lauding the work that has been done by President Dr Irfaan Ali and Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, the diplomat noted that this MoU is Cuba’s contribution to the effort.
“This is an important day for our relations, cooperation, and friendship with Guyana, where we are expanding our ties, a very important area for our Region, for Guyana and for Cuba, which is agriculture.”

“Also, Guyana has a leading role, as we all know, within Caricom, in the area of food security and food production. And Cuba is important in that area. We all know that Cuba-Caricom relations are very historical and very strong,” Luis added.
He further made reference to the eighth Caricom-Cuba Summit that was held last year, where cooperation between Caricom and Cuba was explored. According to Ambassador Luis, this can be considered as Cuba making its contribution to the food security agenda in the Region.
“We look forward very much to achieving and beginning a new chapter in our cooperation relations in this area, with Guyana. We are certain that we are going to achieve higher results working together, in order to make our production capacities achieve bigger and better results.
The full scope of the agreement includes agriculture and vegetable products, livestock and animal products, beekeeping, forestry, and other areas of interest. When it comes to beekeeping, Ramraj confirmed to this publication that over 200 bee-keepers in several regions including Region One (Barima-Waini) and Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo) will benefit.
At present, a delegation of Cuban agriculture specialists is in Guyana and participating in the Agi-Investment Forum and Expo, including representatives from the Cuban Agriculture Ministry, the Cuban Beekeeping Company (APICUBA) and the Agriculture Import-Export Company (CATEC).
Their presence in Guyana follows a visit earlier this year from Cuban First Vice Minister of Agriculture, Rodolfo Rodriguez Exposito, during the Community of Latin American and Caribbean States CELAC Meeting of Agriculture Ministers.
President Dr Irfaan Ali announced on Friday that communities from the hinterland, coastland, and those near mangroves are set to benefit from Cuban assistance for the honey industry. The President had underscored that given the country’s tropical nature and its cultivated crops; it can produce superior honey, which can carry a heavy price.
Guyana currently produces honey on a small scale but the Cuban specialists could assist greatly in setting up apiaries across the country. Cuba sports a successful honey industry that is continuously growing. In 2021, record exports of 8500 tons were primarily destined for markets in western Europe, Canada, Japan, The Bahamas, and Martinique.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had said earlier this month that the move to boost local honey production is timely, considering that Trinidad and Tobago is actively embarking on steps to remove barriers to trade on certain products, such as honey.