THE Guyana Prison Service (GPS) has announced plans to revive its agricultural programme, which had seen significant success in previous years. This initiative aims to maximise the service’s contribution to the agriculture industry while meeting the dietary needs of inmates.

The programme, which was temporarily halted in late 2024 due to security concerns, will resume after a review and enhancement of Standard Operational Procedures. These changes aim to improve the supervision of inmates working on prison farms and prevent future security breaches.

Director of Prisons, Nicklon Elliot, emphasised during a meeting with agriculture officers at the Prison Headquarters on January 23, 2025, that all prison farmlands will be utilised for large-scale farming. The cultivation and harvesting of crops, along with poultry rearing, are set to begin in the first quarter of this year.

The GPS has already procured 12,000 broilers and 3,000 layers for poultry farming at the Lusignan and Mazaruni Prisons. Additionally, pork and tilapia production will be prioritised, alongside the cultivation of crops such as pepper, fine-leaf thyme, and broad-leaf thyme.

As part of the 2025 budgetary allocation, the service will acquire two tractors equipped with trailers and ploughs, as well as an excavator, to facilitate land preparation and drainage improvements. The farming operations will be conducted at the Mazaruni, Lusignan, and Timehri prisons.

Director Elliot highlighted that the initiative aligns with the GPS’s strategic plan to promote self-sustainability and provide inmates with a sense of purpose through farming and animal husbandry.

The GPS extended its gratitude to the Ministry of Agriculture and the Prison Service’s Agriculture Board for their technical support, which is essential for the success of the programme and its contributions to Guyana’s agriculture sector.