-as Guyana looks to collaborate with India

AS Guyana continues to advance its efforts to improve food security, authorities have begun talks with India to leverage research and innovative technologies with the aim of boosting local production in several agricultural industries.

At a recent press conference, Vice-President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo, said works have begun to solidify a work plan that will allow for meaningful collaboration with experts from the South-Asian country, specifically in the areas of expertise and technology.

The initiatives discussions sparked during President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s visit to India in January 2023. After that visit, the Vice President travelled to India to solidify the expanding partnership with India.

“We met also on the agricultural sector and we are looking at a consistent plan to look at higher levels of productivity in the agricultural sector [and] at this point in time in every industry and to move from a peasant type farming into agri-business,” Dr. Jagdeo said.

He further explained that Guyana will need varying expertise for this to happen.

“We need the expertise from many parts of the world to transform these industries into agri-businesses.”

In India, he said, “there are higher levels of productivity, the variety of cane will give you probably two to three times the output that we are getting from a single acre of cane here; similarly, the rice varieties yield much more.”

Beyond these initiatives, the Vice President highlighted that representatives of both nations are discussing the expansion and modernisation of tissue culture facilities in Guyana.

Tissue culture involves the cultivation of plant cells, tissues, or organs on specially formulated nutrient media. Under the right conditions, an entire plant can be regenerated from a single cell.

“With tissue culture you can do millions of plants in a short period of time… It will be a big boost to say our cane farming industry. We need planting material now of a high quality.”

He also shared that India is able to see exceptional yields with its use of nano-fertilisers which is said to produce high-yielding crops and is more advantageous compared to the traditional fertilisers used here in Guyana.

Nano-fertilisers are said to increase soil fertility yield and quality parameters of the crop; they are nontoxic, and can also minimise cost while maximising profit.

“They’re really great at some things like nano fertilisers, so we will explore the use of nano fertiliser. We’re told that two pounds of nano fertiliser can be as effective as say about 45 pounds of regular fertilisers, Dr Jagdeo explained.

India is an undisputed powerhouse in agricultural production, the Vice President said, and it is against this backdrop Guyana is forging ahead with collaborative initiatives.
“They practically feed 1.4 billion people themselves with very little import and with high levels of productivity.”

He added, “So we are hoping, over the next few months, that a lot of these specialists would be recruited and brought to Guyana, to give a big boost to the agriculture sector and expand its productivity.”