COME next year, Guyanese, instead of relying solely on foreign-made milk, will be able to break the seal of a locally produced bottle of Mahaica Dairy Milk –- the premier brand of the Amaya Milk Company.

The official sod-turning ceremony for construction of the company’s milk plant was held on Friday at Onverwagt, West Coast Berbice.
Speaking at the simple ceremony, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha said that the spanking new $150M project will see cattle farmers in Regions Five and Six earning $75M monthly.

He noted government’s commitment to investing in the country’s agricultural sector through the provision of the necessary support to farmers and Guyanese as a whole.

“…you can see the energies and efforts we are putting in the non-oil sector of the country to develop our economy,” he said, adding: “We recognise the importance of the agriculture sector, and we don’t want to be caught like the other countries… where many times they have neglected the agriculture sector and concentrated on one sector. This shows our government’s commitment to the agriculture sector and the development of our country.”

The agriculture minister stated that the project will see not only Guyana, but also the entire Caribbean reducing its import percentage of dairy milk and its by-products.

“This investment is timely as…the last decade has seen a lot of investment being made in importing milk and milk products. Milk products represent 25 per cent of Guyana’s food-import bill and today when Guyana is leading the agri food agenda in the Caribbean. I think this here will complement what we are doing is to ensure that we reduce the food-import bill in Guyana and in the Caribbean,” he added.

According to statistics provided by Minister Mustapha, the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is spending close to US $5B on agricultural imports.

He stated that the regional figure, as well as Guyana’s, will soon change as investments in the agricultural sector continue to roll in.
Meanwhile, Senior Minister within the Office of the President with responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, said that the multi-million dollar investment comes at a critical juncture in the development of Guyana’s agricultural sector and economy as a whole.
He noted that the government is focused on promoting a sustainable economy.

“An economy that is built first and foremost around the principle of sustainability and when we speak of sustainability, not only from the environmental standpoint, but sustainability in the most comprehensive sense possible,” the minister said.

He added: “The art of sustainability and resilience must be diversification… and diversification of the productive sector.”
The economy, Minister Singh said, will not be built only on the emerging oil and gas sector or any dominant sector but rather on all the abundant resources Guyana has to offer, so as to create a diverse production channel for the country’s economy.

“We have always embraced very closely the principle of ensuring that the Guyanese economy is as widely diversified as possible …in our previous terms of office our vision was always one that is built around a highly diversified economy. we have never been content to sit back and see the Guyanese economy revolve [around] any one or even three dominate sectors,” he said.

The finance minister also lauded the interest of investors in Guyana’s agriculture, adding that it was good to see young members of the Guyanese diaspora returning to invest in the country.

The sod-turning ceremony comes six months after a MoU was inked between the company’s General Manager, Canada-based Guyanese Omkaar Sharma, and GO-Invest.

As previously reported, the company has already spent some G$85 million on equipment for the milk-pasteurising facility.

Construction is expected to be completed by March/April of 2022 and will see milk being sold in returnable glass bottles, which will help to minimise negative environmental impacts.

The company plans to eventually expand its production to include yogurt, cheese, paneer and cream and as local dairy production increases, regional markets will be targeted.