AFTER a Memorandum of Understand (MOU) was signed in 2013 between Guyana and Trinidad paving the way for the opening-up of avenues for Trinidadian investors to use Guyana’s lands for agricultural purposes there has been no progress in this regard even as the agreement has expired.Former Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy and Trinidad’s Food Production Minister, Devant Maharaj had said the programme was developed to address the need to improve food security and reduce the high food import bill of the two countries.

However, according to Minister of Agriculture Noel Holder there seems to be some reluctance on the part of Trinidad and Tobago to take up the offer. He said Guyana has large areas of land that can be developed and it can be leased to investors at a nominal fee for development. As such, investors who have the financial capability can lease these large areas of available lands and create the infrastructure at their own cost. He said an MOU would outline the respective benefits for Guyana as well as the investor.

In his 2013 budget presentation then Finance Minister of T&T Larry Howai had announced that an agreement had been reached between the two CARICOM member countries that would provide 10,000 acres of land in Berbice for immediate agricultural production and that “a further 90,000 acres of Guyana’s land would also be made available to T&T farmers. The whole idea was that investors in Port-of-Spain would be invited to farm the lands. Back in December last year, investors from the twin-island republic visited and had begun screening Guyana’s landscape with particular focus on the Canje Basin and Intermediate Savannahs.

Discussions then were focused on investment incentives in Guyana, foreign agricultural investments here and the Trinidadian company Cooperative Citrus Growers, land availability, soil types and market trade logistics.
Though no agreement was signed then, Ramsammy had said the discussions had taken the countries one step closer to fulfilling the objective of the MoU, which was designed to facilitate TT investment in Guyana for agricultural production.

According to him, the next step would have been the presentation of scoping proposals for potential investment even as dialogue continued between the two countries. He had also noted that while certain projects had been identified during another visit, the groups are still to submit their proposals to Guyana’s Government.