WORK is progressing rapidly on three, 3000-tonne silos and one 80-tonne-per-hour drying tower at Tacama Landing, along the Berbice River.

Those facilities, when completed, will serve to support large-scale cultivation of corn and soya, President Dr Irfaan Ali said in a recent post on his official Facebook page.

In a recent interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha had said that works were in progress to extend the farm in the Tacama Savannahs to some 4,000 acres.

“Last year, we would have started the trial of 125 acres and it was very successful and we harvested three tonnes per hectare, and that is aligned in getting the kind of production we want; because of that, we said we will expand to 3,000-4,000 acres this year and we will continuously increase, so the next three years we can expand to 25, 000,” Mustapha said.

The country will not only become a supplier to the regional market, but will also be self-sufficient in producing its own feed for livestock.

“Now if we can move to 25,000 acres, this means we will be self-sufficient two times per year and we will also be a net exporter,” Minister Mustapha said.

Meanwhile, soya bean at the Dubulay Ranch at Ebini along the Berbice River will be ready to harvest in the coming weeks.

In 2021, six local companies and a regional firm joined together to undertake the massive project that could see Guyana becoming self-sufficient in corn and soya bean over the next few years.

The owners of Guyana Stockfeeds Incorporated., Royal Chicken, Edun Farms, SBM wood, Dubulay Ranch, and Bounty farm ltd., along with the Brazilian-owned, N F agriculture, have partnered to produce soya bean and corn for both the local and regional markets.

With Guyana expending close to US$25 million annually on proteins for the poultry sector, the government since being elected to office in 2020, has taken steps to promote domestic cultivation of grains such as corn and soya bean.