-corn, soya bean cultivation nearing target, President Ali says
CRITICAL investments in Guyana’s production of spices and grains will soon see the country increasing its local supply and being ideally positioned to export across the region.
According to the country’s Head of State, Dr. Irfaan Ali, Guyana, by the end of the year, will produce three million pounds of ginger.
The president, while addressing an event, organised by the Canada-Guyana Chamber of Commerce last Friday also disclosed that the country is near its target of being self-sufficient in the production of grains such as corn and soya bean.
“By the end of this year, I am told, just one project we are going after…we’ll produce close to three million pounds of ginger, in excess of our national demand. By 2025, we will produce all our grains locally, corn and soya [and] by 2027 we’ll be exporting,” the Head of State said.
This publication had previously reported that some 250 acres of turmeric and ginger were being cultivated at farms in Mabaruma and Matarkai, Region One and, once harvested, farmers will be supplying spices to several local distributors across the country.
The government, in a bid to increase the production of ginger and turmeric had allocated some $153 million in the 2023 national budget to improve processing capacity at Hosororo, Parika, and along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.
This investment will see over 300 tonnes of ginger and turmeric being reaped and a decrease in drying time from three-five days to eight hours per day, directly enhancing productivity.
Speaking further on the country’s economic growth, President Ali noted that, while Guyana has been making a name for itself in the global arena, for the country to reach new heights, digitisation will have to play a major role.
“We want to set up a country that is known for innovation, not only in the production of food, but how innovative can we do it. Applying the best technology, increasing the number of women and youths and people living with disabilities, and owning farms and food production facilities, attaching a social value that creates higher value,” he said.
The business community, according to him, must look at specialised production and invest in technologies that will see the country developing further.
Already, some local production companies such as Amaya Milk and Demerara Distillers Limited have begun expanding their productions.
“In 2030 the businesses must be supported by a strong technological platform, a platform that is driven and supported by technology that is ahead of our time,” he added.
In October 2022, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, had said that the government will continue to work with farmers to boost the productivity of spices.
To boost the production of spices at the Hosororo factory in Region One, Minister Mustapha put into operation several new pieces of machinery to the tune of $9.7 million for the NAREI spice- processing plant. These tools included a Vibro sifter, a ginger washer, a ginger slicer, and a ginger grinder.
These investments are in keeping with the government’s commitment to increase agricultural production of non-traditional crops and draw Guyana closer to realising the region’s goal to reduce its food importation bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025.
