WITH critical investments being made in the Agriculture Sector, Guyana is anticipated to ramp up its corn and soya bean production, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, has said.
Mustapha, during an invited comment to the Guyana Chronicle on Wednesday, said that aggressive works are underway to see the completion of three 3,000-tonne silos and one 80-tonne-per-hour drying tower at the Tacama Landing along the Berbice River by September.

“It’s a work-in-progress; it’s going on and it’s moving very rapidly. It would be completed before crop ends around this time which is in September,” Mustapha said.
Once completed, the facilities will decrease the amount of the coarse grain that is lost during the current drying process which is done using a mobile dryer.

Mustapha said: “That will help the production tremendously because they had to borrow and take in mobile small dryer but this here now will dry and process their soya bean right there.”
The new facilities will also provide employment opportunities and boost the country’s food production.
The country had previously spent almost $60 million to import corn and soya bean; however, Guyana is now cultivating the coarse grain locally with intention of exporting.

Meanwhile, some $150 million was set aside in this year’s budget for the construction of a wharf in the area. This will provide easy river access to the land under cultivation, making it more accessible for farmers to transport their produce.
In a past interview with this publication, Mustapha had said that works were in progress to extend the farm in the Tacama Savannah to some 4,000 acres.

“In 2021, 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.

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.
Advancement in the agricultural sector is imminent, as much emphasis is being placed on reducing Guyana’s and the Caribbean’s food-import bill by 25 per cent by 2025, through the increased production of high-value crops to meet market demands, among other things.

Mustapha had said that the country, in 2021, spent $2.6 billon on the importation of high-value crops, such as broccoli, cauliflower and carrots.
It is for this reason that the government intends to continue the diversification of the agricultural sector.
Minister Mustapha said that while agriculture is one of the main sectors that will help to diversify the country’s economy, much more work has to be done in the sector.
He related that the goal is to first become self-sufficient, which will see Guyana producing enough food locally to satisfy the demands of people.