In just a few days after President Irfaan Ali visited Region One (Barima-Waini) with plans of enabling greater agricultural pursuits within the communities, mechanisms are already in motion to bring success to the region.
Minister Zulfikar Mustapha with residents and officials of Region One
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha met with farmers and residents from Sebai, Matarkai sub-district, Region One, on Friday, in keeping with these promises.
During the meeting, Minister Mustapha told farmers that many developmental initiatives are in the pipeline for the region, more so for the cultivation of spices.
He told farmers that the Ministry will supply all the planting materials for large-scale ginger cultivation in addition to finding lucrative markets for their crops.
Farmers also benefitted from shade house materials, Black Giant chickens, farming tools, and other forms of planting materials such as seeds.
Minister Mustapha also committed to assisting the community with a tiller to assist them with land preparation to scale-up their production.
During the President’s visit, he had pointed out that enabling direct market links for agricultural produce to the Caribbean is a major vision planned out for Region One, as he announced a series of investments in electricity and infrastructure for it to come to fruition.
In terms of agriculture, Ali told residents that they can expect support to ensure all arable lands are put to use as well as transportation mechanisms to access markets. In the first quarter of 2023, the new MV Ma Lisha will start plying the North West route, enabling better transportation for produce.
Additionally, it was stated that a proper facility in keeping with all health and shipping standards in the region is necessary, to which a new wharf is in the pipeline for storage and shipping purposes.
President Ali had voiced, “We want to help you with the equipment, help you establish the farms so that we can have proper drainage, help you so that we can build the productive capacity in the region and then support you with transportation infrastructure so you can get the produce to the market…Now that we’re removing the trade barriers in Caricom, we could easily get our food production and agricultural products in the market. What we want do is export directly from here to those locations.”
In the next three years, Guyana, with the assistance of more diversified crops, is aiming to reduce the Caribbean Community’s (Caricom’s) food import bill by 25 per cent.
Guyana currently holds lead responsibility for agriculture, agricultural diversification and food security in Caricom and is spearheading the regional body’s quest to reduce its US$5 billion food import bill.
High on the agenda to address has been taxes and duties, incentivising agriculture, climate-smart resilient agriculture, productivity, technical support, consumption patterns, data collection, regional transport infrastructure, agro-processing and creating a regional brand. (G12)
