THE National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), on Thursday, facilitated a tour for the visiting New Zealand and Caribbean Community (CARICOM) delegation to showcase the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP), popularly known as the Shade House Project at its Mon Repos headquarters.

According to a press a release, the AIEP is among several projects being implemented by the government to reduce the food imports by 25 per cent by the year 2025.

NAREI’s CEO, Jaganarine Singh, and his staff provided a tour of the shade houses that are cultivated with cauliflower, lettuce, mint, sweet peppers, carrots, among other crops.

A meeting which was also held, allowed for the sharing of information on the Shade House Project, climate change, pest and diseases management, soil health, and mangrove restoration, the release added.

The CARICOM Secretariat is currently engaging with a high-level delegation from New Zealand in an effort to expand co-operation in the area of food security, energy, and climate change.

The Guyana Chronicle had recently reported that some $15 million in high-value crops was produced in the first quarter of 2023 from AIEP.

The programme which was launched by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali, back in January 2022, saw the construction of several shades houses and the introduction of hydroponics and vertical agriculture to produce high-value crops.

Broccoli, cauliflower and carrot form a large part of the country’s food import bill, with data suggesting that consumption of the vegetables is increasing with each passing year.

This newspaper had previously reported that in 2018, the import value for carrot, broccoli and cauliflower was $1.583 billion, while in 2019 and 2021 the import value stood at $1.962 billion and $2.626 billion, respectively.