–agri inputs for Mashabo residents; land tillers, other farming tools to be delivered soon
–3,000 Tambaqui to begin cage culture; 10 acres for pineapple production

SERVICE-ORIENTED training, an additional ferry service for the Essequibo and the introduction of cage culture are among several initiatives that will soon be implemented to boost the local tourism and agricultural sectors of Mashabo Mission, a small indigenous community located on the Essequibo Coast.
During a community meeting with residents and farmers on Friday, President, Dr. Irfaan Ali said that these initiatives will see residents becoming self-sufficient in creating employment and producing their own food.

“We have something that is very rich for tourism and eco-tourism here and that potential must be explored fully,” Dr. Ali said.
Regarding tourism, residents of the community shared ongoing plans to develop an eco-friendly facility to accommodate tourists and vendors; however, the challenge of transportation to the village is a concern.
To address this, the President said that the government will soon introduce an additional ferry to service the Essequibo route from Parika.
“We have to get more trips coming from Parika to Essequibo… as early as next week, we will commence the experiment of an additional ferry to service Essequibo. We are going to invest in one additional ferry to service Essequibo, so that we can bring the full potential,” Dr. Ali related.

This particular investment, he said, will provide endless opportunities for the community’s budding tourism sector. Additional training will be provided to several young persons in the community to support this sector.
“Beginning from September through the Joint Services, we will send four persons to train your young people in service-oriented tourism right in the village,” the Head of State said.

AGRICULTURE
Meanwhile, to ensure that residents are self-sufficient in producing their own food, each household will receive 25 black giant birds to boost local egg production there.
This, according to President Ali, will also complement several other ongoing initiatives in the community.

“For every household we are going to give you 25 black giants so that you can use them to produce eggs for every household. That can support the school-feeding programme, that can support your tourism project and it can help you to sell outside the village,” Dr. Ali said.
The community, he reasoned, could produce thousands of eggs daily and supply them to other markets.
To further assist farmers, land tillers and other farming tools will also be delivered.

“We want to make farming sustainable for you; we want to help you with this farming, to help you and to ensure that you increase your production… we are going to send six land tillers to the 20 plus farmers. In addition to the land tillers, we are going to send a whole host of farming tools and equipment for you to use in the farm,” Dr. Ali said.
Meanwhile, to empower the women and youths of the community, cage culture and the expansion of pineapple production will be explored.
Women under the age of 35 could participate in an initiative whereby 3,000 tambaqui fishes will be reared using cage culture. The government will also provide the means for these farmers to market their produce.

“I believe women can create leadership in agriculture; women can play an important role in agriculture, so we want to mobilise the women in the village below 35 years old, and we are going to work with them on establishing through cage farming, one fish cage right in the community that will be operated by these women,” Dr. Ali said.
Meanwhile, 10 acres of land will be set aside to produce pineapples; this particular project will target interested youths.

“I’ve asked the toshao to identify 10 acres of land, and we are going to help you prepare those 10 acres of land, but we want the land dedicated to the production of pineapples. In a year from now, we want to see your pineapples in Anna Regina market and markets across the region,” Dr. Ali said.
The Head of State said that the government has been meeting with several residents in various hinterland communities to bridge the economic gaps faced in these communities.