SOME 500 acres of soya bean being cultivated at Santa Fe, Region Nine, will be harvested in September, according to President, Dr. Irfaan Ali in a post on his Facebook page on Wednesday.
The Head of State went on to say that production has been progressing satisfactorily. Local cultivation of corn and soya commenced in 2021 after Dr. Ali challenged local investors to get involved in the cultivation of two of the main inputs for feed for the livestock sector.

The owners of Guyana Stock Feed Ltd., Royal Chicken, Edun Farms, SBM Wood, Dubulay Ranch, and Bounty Farm Ltd., along with the Brazilian-owned N F Agriculture, 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 beans.

The country will not only become a supplier to the regional market, but it also expects to become self-sufficient in producing its own feed for livestock.
In a previous interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, had said that the aim is to extend the farms over a five-year period.
“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.

This is being supplemented and supported by the construction of three 3,000-tonne silos and one 80-tonne-per-hour drying tower at the Tacama Landing along the Berbice River, where corn and soya bean are also being cultivated by September.
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.
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.