AS the Ministry of Agriculture forges ahead with plans to transform the sector, 32 contracts totalling $2.1 billion were inked on Friday.

According to subject minister Zulfikar Mustapha, the contracts are part of the ministry’s 2022 work programme which aims to enhance services and better serve agriculture stakeholders across the country.

Of the 32 contracts, four were inked for the procurement of lab equipment, a precision row planter and six all-terrain vehicles (ATVs) for the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute.

Meanwhile, two contracts were inked for the supply and delivery of HDPE pipes for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) sugarcane fields.

One contract was inked for the supply and delivery of agro-processing equipment for the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), while the remaining contracts were inked for the construction and rehabilitation of several pump stations and drainage structures, the procurement of critical machinery, and the maintenance of several canals across the country under the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA).

During the signing, Minister Mustapha said that the projects were critical and urged the contractors to execute the works according to the contractual specifications.

He also said following the ministry’s successes last year in terms of completing 94 per cent of its work programme, it is expected that contractors will put the same amount of emphasis on these new projects in a timely manner.

“I want to ask you here this afternoon that like last year, let us continue to execute our work in a timely basis, let us continue to ensure that our work is executed to contractual specifications,” he said.

The minister stressed the need for contractors to ensure works are carried out according to specifications in order to reflect positively on the lives of the beneficiaries.

“We have some very critical programmes that people depend on so when an agency executes a programme, there are a number of persons who benefit.,” he said adding: “These projects are critical…people depend on these projects for their livelihoods and I want you to ensure that you execute these projects on time.”