–as country moves to cement place as regional leader in agriculture
CRITICAL investments in Guyana’s production of high-value crops earned the country in excess of $1 million, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has said.
Minister Mustapha during a broadcast interview on Saturday, said the crops which included broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and other leafy vegetables, were produced under the Youth Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship programme.

The programme which was launched by President, Dr. Irfaan Ali back in January, 2022, saw the construction of several shadehouses and the introduction of hydroponics and vertical agriculture to produce high-value crops at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute, (NAREI) Mon Repos.
“For the first half of the year for the project we started at Mon Repos… this has earned in excess of over a million dollars. This is only the start here; when you look around the country there are large sums of money people are earning, young people are earning,” Minister Mustapha said.
Mustapha said that officials have been making targetted investments and creating programmes to attract youths.

“I went to Linden, I went to Kwakwani, we have bright young people who are involved, people who were doing the white-collar work so to speak, clerical and offices, are now leaving those work and now getting involved because one, they see the attractiveness of this area and an area that they can have great earning power,” he said, adding: “In the agriculture sector now, we have seen a revolution so to speak; we are seeing a lot of activities, and today more than ever Guyana is being seen as a leader in agriculture.”

Similar projects are also being replicated on the Essequibo Coast in Region Two and Region Three.
Broccoli, cauliflower and carrots 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 carrots, 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.

“These crops will be in great demand in the oil and gas sector, but when you look at the hospitality sector they are in great demand. That is why we are pushing these high-value crops,” Minister Mustapha said.
Meanwhile, to further boost the production of high-value crops in the country, plans are moving apace for the rollout of a US$15 million hydroponics facility.

This publication previously reported that approximately US$15,750,000 is being invested by a foreign company to execute the project, which will involve a three-phase hydroponic production system based on nutrient film techniques and soil-less production systems.
In the first phase of the project, the company will construct a 2,000 square-metre state-of-the-art hydroponic system, and install a cold room, packaging facility, harvesting equipment, irrigation controllers, fertiliser mixers, water recycling system, and emergency water storage.

Phase two will see the construction and installation of an advanced greenhouse system. Meanwhile, phase three will see the construction of a regional distribution centre to store, process and package vegetables for local and international markets.
Hydroponics is a technology used to grow plants in fertiliser solution containing varying amounts of nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium. Simply put, it is the technique of growing plants using a water-based nutrient solution rather than soil.