WITH development in almost every area of agriculture, Region Six (East Berbice- Corentyne) is playing a major role in Guyana’s overall contribution to the ‘25 by 25’ initiative.

Speaking at a press conference in that region on Friday, President Dr. Irfaan Ali noted that the government continues to open up tens of thousands of acres of new land there to expand the production.

“Region Six is a major player in the ‘25 by 2025’ initiative in every area; in livestock, in aquaculture, in grains, the cash crop, in processing. We’re building a facility now for processing and packaging in Black Bush; we’re seeing expansion of farming and farming opportunities, so it’s enormous,” the President explained.

The economy of Region Six is powered primarily by farming, especially rice farming and cash-crop farming. The region has also contributed tremendously to the rapid increase of Guyana’s shrimp production, with the expansion of 1,833 acres of ponds there.

“Tens of thousands of new lands; we’re opening up new lands for production in the region. In the Canje Creek, in Baracara, we’re spending tens of millions of dollars in empoldering; in bringing new land into production. More farmers are being deployed into the lands,” the President boasted.

The ‘25 by 25’ initiative is a pledge by the Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) to reduce the region’s food import bill by at least 25 per cent by 2025.

Research has shown that the region imports, from out of the region, approximately 80 per cent of the food that it consumes, which amounts to approximately US$4 billion.

Though for years there has been calls for greater domestic food production to address the massive food import bill, the proposal found reinvigorated energy among the region’s governments last year as it faced some of the worst sides of the food insecurity that the world experienced due to the war between Ukraine and Russia.

The war had further exacerbated food security concerns during the COVID-19 pandemic. Guyana is seen as one of the leading countries in the region with the ability to increase production in the region and fill some of the gaps.

In Guyana, the government has been committing much resources, including lands and funding, towards this initiative.

“What we are doing in agriculture is trying to create a lot of opportunities for young people, using technology, innovation, research and development; more of an entrepreneurial approach to the expansion of food production and agriculture in the region,” the President noted.

He explained that the expansion in the agriculture sector is being built to match the growth taking place all across Guyana, in all of the other sectors, and fuelled by the massive gains Guyana is seeing from its oil-and-gas sector.

While Guyana is earning significant income from its oil resources, the government has maintained that agriculture must continue to hold its own.  To ensure that this status quo is maintained, the agriculture ministry is implementing a series of initiatives in the various agriculture pillars to provide the necessary resources to drive the sector forward.

The money from that sector is being used to fund Guyana’s diversification in other sectors.

“New hospitals coming on stream; more doctors… We’re expanding training programmes for nurses. We’re deploying more resources to training specialist doctors that will be deployed regionally; so the investment is wide; it’s covering different sectors. I will say agriculture is a main part, however,” the President contended.

In the 2023 budget, over $79 million has been directly given to Region Six for agriculture initiatives, including the rehabilitation of bridges and revetments at Rotterdam, Nos. 62/63 and 53/54 façade, Razack Dam and Moleson Creek, and the purchase of tractor.