— other inputs to boost Agri Science Dept, Minister Mustapha announces

STUDENTS from the Corentyne Comprehensive High School’s Agricultural Science Department will soon benefit from improved facilities for the practical aspect of their studies.
This follows a commitment made by Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Wednesday to assist the school with a shadehouse and other agriculture-related items.

The minister was at the time spearheading the government’s ‘Because We Care’ Cash Grant distribution exercise in Region Six.
Minister Mustapha, who is also a past student of the school, said the ministry was in the process of implementing several transformative projects to get more young people involved in agriculture.

“I attended this school from 1980 to 1985 and I am proud to be back here today. I’ve been going around the country because the ministry has a lot of initiatives that we’ve been rolling out. Guyana is now leading the agriculture sector in the Caribbean. Our President is leading the food drive in CARICOM to reduce the import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025. I want to make this commitment. The Ministry of Agriculture will be donating a shadehouse to the school along with a set of agricultural tools. We’ll also work along with them to develop their poultry- rearing activities. GLDA will help them with building the pens and supplying the birds, so that the school can benefit from an all-around agriculture operation,” the minister disclosed.

As it relates to the grant, Minister Mustapha said the government was keen on developing the country’s human-resource capacity so that the other sectors can also develop.
Noting the importance of the grant, the minister said that the government was going to continue to offer assistance to Guyanese to further their education.

“This grant is intended to aid parents because we know many parents find it hard to get critical supplies like books, stationery, and even school uniforms for their children to attend school. I want to urge you, the parents, to use the monies to purchase the necessary school supplies for your children. The government is already providing free textbooks for public school students. The best foundation for a child’s future is a sound education. We can have all the natural resources and wealth in the world but if we do not develop our human resources, we’ll continue to remain poor. That is why, as a government, we are making the largest budgetary allocation to the education sector because we recognise the importance of education,” Minister Mustapha said.

In addition to the cash grant, Minister Mustapha also said that the government recently awarded thousands of fully-funded scholarships for persons to study at a number of prestigious education institutions across the world. This, he said, was also in keeping with the government’s commitment to ensure the country’s human resource is developed in addition to making more academic opportunities available to Guyanese.
Minister Mustapha also participated in the distribution exercise at the Tain Primary School. At the end of the exercise, approximately $37,620,000 was distributed at the two centres. (Ministry of Agriculture)