Region Two agro-processing facility completed at $60M

The $60 million agro-processing facility in Pomeroon-Supenaam (Region Two) is completed and
will soon be outfitted with high-end equipment ahead of its official opening.
Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh, on Sunday, said the machines are being procured and should
arrive within the next two months. The state-of-the-art food processing factory is located
adjacent to the Guyana School of Agriculture’s (GSA), Region Two campus. Dr. Singh said it
has vast potential to provide a broad range of training opportunities for residents there.

Minister Singh, was quoted in the media as saying that he anticipates a major economic boost to
the district’s agricultural industry. The minister disclosed that while GSA students in Essequibo
benefitted from theoretical lectures, they faced challenges gaining practical experience. “The
construction of the facility serves multiple purposes. Firstly, it would allow students of the GSA
based in Essequibo, to be able to complete their practical training in a live environment,” Dr.
Singh said
He continued, “There are going to be dry and wet processing lines. Dry line for the purposes of
processing things like flours; cassava flour etcetera and on the wet line things like pepper sauce,
jams, and spices.”  He stressed that the facility will also provide opportunities for local
entrepreneurs to process and package their produce for marketing. “It will also serve as a
facilitator for the development of an agro-processing business or sector in Essequibo, which of
course is very important because Essequibo as you know is famous for its fresh, good quality and
large quantity of agriculture produce,” Minister Singh noted.
The finance minister said that Government has been investing heavily in the food sector to
ensure it moves from a producer of primary farming, to one of equitable value-added products.
Dr. Singh declared that the establishment of the food processing hub is part of government’s
wider strategic plan to provide massive resources for the nation’s agriculturists to produce and
export value- added products.
Minister Singh said it is also part of the matrix of training opportunities for Guyanese in all
aspect of economic activity.
Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha noted that two additional agro-processing
facilities will be established in the Region come 2022. Mustapha said that government is
receiving signals of interest from many countries.   He added that works are underway to
construct a similar facility at Black Bush Polder, Region Six.