TO further support the agricultural works ongoing in the hinterland, 150 persons from various indigenous communities will undergo training in different areas.
This is according to President Dr. Irfaan Ali, who addressed he closing ceremony of the National Toshaos Council’s (NTC) conference on Friday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
“We are willing to immediately train 150 of your young people from your regions and your communities in these areas to support food production, food security and agricultural expansion,” he said.

The President urged community leaders to identify young persons who want to be trained to become vets, agricultural support staff, and extension officers, stating that the government is going to pay for the training and send them back to the communities to work full time.
The Head of State said he tasked the Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha with setting up a unit within the ministry to deal specifically with hinterland food security and food production.
He added that a total of $300 million will be set aside in Budget 2024 for the development of agriculture and food security in the hinterland communities.

Additionally, the President said the government is working with external markets to have long term arrangements for the large-scale production of sweet cassava, to meet external market needs.
“So before the end of the year, in selected communities, the Ministry of Agriculture will be consulting with you on supporting the development of large scale cassava production, to meet those external markets,” he said.

Moreover, President Ali related that by 2025, the administration wants to see expanded tourism products in Guyana, as well as large scale facilities available.
To build human capacity in the tourism sector, he said that the government will launch a special initiative to train and certify young Amerindians in Hospitality and Management, providing them with the opportunity to work in the new hotels that are going to open in Guyana.

“…then in every single region they will take the new hotels that are coming on stream to do a recruitment drive, so that they can recruit from your communities and you can have your children, your young people working in the internationally branded hotels that are coming to Guyana,” President Ali said.

He added: “So not only are we going to do the training and ensure you get the certification but we are also going to do the recruitment at the community level to support the job creation.”
The President believes that these are the innovative ways in which the government will bring real transformation to the lives of Amerindians.