Guyana becoming regional food hub sees Gov’t working aggressively

– aims to meet nutritional needs of all Guyanese

– investing in new agri technology

As the Government will be taking an aggressive approach towards accomplishing its overarching food agenda, Guyana’s agriculture sector is expected to move leaps and bounds in 2023.

It was noted that the administration aims to sustainably meet the nutritional needs of every Guyanese, as well as make the nation self-sufficient and a regional food hub.

With a host of agriculture interventions set for 2023, Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha told the mediathat his ministry is prepared to aggressively advance the sector.

The minister stressed that several persons have already signaled their interest to invest in new agriculture technology like hydroponics, among others.

For context, hydroponics is a type of horticulture and a subset of hydroculture that involves growing plants, usually crops or medicinal plants, without soil, by using water-based mineral nutrient solutions.

Mustapha said that his ministry plans to ramp up the artificial insemination (AI) programme.

“We have already signed a contract with a Brazilian firm to start the transfer of embryos. Over 300 animals were already identified. And that process in less than a month,” he was quoted as saying.

The minister explained that the Barbados Blackbelly Sheep project will also see significant expansion this year.

Mustapha noted that following a discussion with his Barbados counterpart, the remaining tranche of the Barbados blackbelly sheep is expected to arrive before the end of the first quarter of 2023.

“We have already started the process of building the pens and preparing the pastures and getting things in order… by June the programme will be in full swing,” he said.

The minister stressed that the fisheries sector is also in for a major turnaround, noting that more resources will be made available to ensure the industry is sustained.

“We have started the cage culture that the president spoke about. We already have eight cages and those cages are stuck with Tambaqui. And over the next few months, you will see that will ramp up, too, in the various hinterland areas,” Minister Mustapha added.

He pointed out that with Guyana currently importing approximately 52 million eggs annually at a cost of some $350M GUY, efforts are being advanced to establish a sustainable hatching egg industry to support the local poultry sector.

Additionally, shrimp production will be expanded, while there will be increased use of shade houses in the agricultural sector, promoting large-scale cultivation of high-value crops such as broccoli and cauliflower, and large-scale dairy production.

It was disclosed that the government allocated some $38B GUY to advance the nation’s agriculture sector in 2022. That represents an almost 100 per cent increase from the 2020 allocation.