–create platform for broader markets, showcase investment opportunities

AMIDST Guyana’s oil boom, the country’s agricultural sector remains a key driver in its push for economic diversification.
With enhanced collaboration between the agricultural and energy sectors, there could be immense opportunities.

With this in mind, the Guyana Energy Conference and Supply Chain Expo and the Agriculture Ministry on Monday officially opened the ‘Conference Village’—an event established to showcase the country’s local produce, agro-processors and farmers at the Kingston Seawall Esplanade.
According to the Energy Conference’s Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Kiana Wilburg, the inaugural event will also serve as a platform to attract potential investors attending the Energy conference, which commences today.

The village serves three main purposes: to emphasise agriculture’s role in Guyana’s diversification; provide a broader market for local agricultural products and showcase investment opportunities in Guyana’s agricultural sector.
Wilburg said: “Irrespective of the conversations we’re having about leveraging Guyana’s natural resources for a sustainable future and in terms of resources… we must always ensure that our policy leaders, our stakeholders bear in mind that agriculture will remain at the forefront of Guyana’s diversification agenda.”

She pointed out that the Guyana Energy Conference is a hub for bringing together international, regional experts and stakeholders within 26 industries.
Wilburg said: “We want to showcase the potential of our farmers, our agro-processors and all those persons within the agricultural landscape; we want to ensure they are paired with the local partners who have the capabilities and we want to showcase the investment opportunities that are available in Guyana’s agricultural landscape.”

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, in his remarks, said that the agricultural sector has seen rapid growth, with Guyana now producing new crops such as corn and soya bean, catering to the Caribbean market.

“And we know for a fact that over the years, we have had the oil and gas conference away from agriculture; we want to merge the sectors within our country to show our potential,” Mustapha said, adding: “Although oil and gas would have been a sector that is very attractive, the agriculture sector, over the last four years, has developed rapidly.”

He stressed that the growth in the sector has been tremendous, with the country being a destination for new and emerging crops.
The Agriculture Minister said: “Crops and commodities that the Caribbean normally import, we are now producing it [sic] in Guyana.
“We are now producing it [sic] in Guyana, things like corn and soya bean, the high-value crops and we are catering for the oil and gas sector, for the hospitality industry, but more importantly, to take in the slots that will be created.”