FARMSUP commissions $100M branch in Corentyne
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, and FARMSUP Managing Director, Renger Van Dijk, cut the ribbon to officially open the company’s Berbice branch  
Minister within the Ministry of Public Works, Deodat Indar, and FARMSUP Managing Director, Renger Van Dijk, cut the ribbon to officially open the company’s Berbice branch  

By Nafeeza Yahya-Sukar
FARM Supplies Limited (FARMSUP) officially opened the doors of its third branch with the commissioning of a spanking $100M facility at Number 73 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne, on Saturday.

The commissioning ceremony of the Berbice branch marks another major milestone for the company that first started operations in Guyana in 1993.

According to the Managing Director of the company, Renger Van Dijk, the property which houses the business was strategically acquired six years ago to serve the agriculture industry, specifically farmers and fisherfolk.

Some of the equipment available at the newly-opened FARMSUP branch at Number 73 Village, East Berbice, Corentyne

However, with the closure of the Skeldon and Rose Hall estates, the economic climate in the region changed and the opening was placed on hold. However, with the massive investments in the agriculture sector by the Dr Irfaan Ali-led government, the company started construction in October 2020 and was able to complete the facility for a $100M price tag to serve the needs of the people in Region Six.

“When the property was purchased six years ago, the Skeldon Estate was still in operation and we wanted to be close to the fisherfolk but things changed. Skeldon closed and the outlook for farmers in general changed as well, so we put it on a back burner but recently things changed again and we have more confidence in what is going on here and we decided to build the facility.”

He continued that the company’s success was mainly due to its after-sale service, and for the Berbice branch they recognised that the farmers were the backbone of the region which is why the company will be offering training sessions at the new location, as well as in the fields, to help farmers increase their yields and be more successful in their ventures.

Some of the attendees at the opening ceremony

“We have been the leaders in providing quality and high performance equipment and we will continue to do that. We don’t simply sell the products and that is the end of it, for example, sell tractors to farmers, no, we offer a complete solution for the farmers. We offer after-market service that has made us successful; we see you as a partner after we sell you equipment and work with you…. We are not here to only sell equipment; here in Berbice we are part of the farming industry and have been since 1991 and when you do well we do well; when you suffer we will suffer so we offer training sessions in this building and also in the fields as well to assist you to make your farms more profitable.”

INVESTORS’ CONFIDENCE
Meanwhile, Minister within the Ministry of Public Works and acting Minister of Agriculture, Deodat Indar, commended the company for making the investment while noting that it is proof of the confidence investors have in the government and the timing of the opening coincides with the demand for more heavy-duty equipment in both the agriculture and construction sectors.

“This is testament of expansion in Guyana. His Excellency, Dr. Irfaan Ali always speaks of the expansion of Guyana. Agriculture, the sector that every farmer participates in, contributed 27.1 per cent of the GDP in 2020…. Some $22.6B was invested in the agriculture sector, so it tells you the amount of things we have to do to expand Guyana. The construction sector in Public Works Ministry in the 2021 budget has 35.6B in capital works. It is the largest that the ministry has ever seen; that tells you the need for equipment, it tells you the need for massive amount of projects and obviously any contractor cannot use an equipment here and wait when a job is finished to move it to another one; they have to have equipment to round projects simultaneously so it says to a company like Farm Supplies that the volume is going to go up and the right thing to do is to come to Region Six where it’s needed.”

He continued that the government understands the role agriculture plays in the economy and has decided to remove the taxes on farming and mining equipment upon assumption of office so that the farmers and miners can have more monies in their pockets to spend as they see fit.

FARMSUP first opened its doors on January 22, 1993 and has been serving the productive sectors of farming, fishing, construction, mining, forestry and manufacturing by providing quality services and equipment with excellent after-sale services.

Apart from the sale of equipment, the company at its Berbice branch has laser levelling equipment for rental or will take on jobs and execute them. They have become a household name over the past 30 years and have been instrumental in introducing new products to farmers that have changed the methodology of farming. One notable product has been the introduction of the grain cart for the rice industry.

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