-says government’s developmental plan includes all Guyanese

MINISTER of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on Tuesday announced that as part of a massive plan for the sector, a swine programme will soon be launched and Soesdyke-Linden Highway farmers will be beneficiaries of free agricultural inputs under a new initiative that seeks to increase their earnings and boost production.

The minister was at the time meeting residents of Loo Creek and its environs at the Seventh-Day Adventist Camp Site on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. The sizeable audience consisted mainly of farmers.

There was loud applause when the minister announced a programme which would equip farmers with the resources and tools needed to increase agricultural production through the distribution of chickens and planting materials.

The people of Loo Creek, and the neighbouring villages of Kairuni, Adventure, and Silver Hill were more than pleased with this announcement.

“We are equipping people to earn for themselves. When we make a promise or a commitment, we take it very seriously. We will bring water supply to Loo Creek, and if you notice, we have started this project. All commitments and promises have been fulfilled, delivered to the people of this country. We are doing new things, such as building stadiums at Anna Regina, Linden and in Berbice,” he said.

Minister Mustapha emphasised that the government’s development plan includes all Guyanese and is not applicable to people of a certain ethnicity, background or religion. He said the government’s aim is to modernise the country.

Turning his attention to the agricultural sector, he spoke of the tremendous losses poultry farmers suffer as a result of disease. Armed with this knowledge, government has invested some $29 million to purchase vaccines to combat diseases.

He said too that persons have been brought to Guyana to manufacture the vaccines as part of efforts to reduce cost and the number of birds that dies.

He urged poultry farmers to engage the livestock officers who were present at the meeting as part of his team.

The minister announced that 50,000 birds would be handed to farmers and cash-crop farmers would receive planting materials to boost their productivity.

“In Guyana, the demand is high so what we are doing, we have 11 nurseries across the country where we produce planting materials, but we are building a tissue-culture lab in another few months, which upon completion will produce millions of planting material[s] for large-scale farmers,” he said.

In the drainage and irrigation (D&I) sector, the minister pointed out that they are working to modernise it.

He disclosed that they are presently constructing Hope-like canals in Regions Five, Three and Six and installing a modern pump at Jimbo, East Bank Demerara.

Further, Minister Mustapha revealed that a total of 40 new pumps will be installed across the country. Additionally, 100 new sluices will be either rehabilitated or built, while mega canals will be constructed in what he says is part of a massive plan for the agricultural sector.

“In all sectors we are moving, developing, securing, and hope as beneficiaries you will prosper and let progress continue in this country,” he said.

The minister added that the ministry will soon launch a swine programme in which a pair of swine will be distributed to farmers to increase its population since they will be building a swine abattoir at Garden of Eden, East bank Demerara.

Further, he disclosed that $40 million has been spent on importing corn and soya for the livestock industry. This he underscored has got to change.

Speaking more on this, he said that President, Dr Irfaan Ali’s vision is for us to produce our own corn and soya in Guyana and as such, the Tacama savannah is being developed for cultivation by year’s end.

The minister added that agriculture is far-reaching and efforts are being made to modernise the sector and get more young people involved.

The minister stated that they have started a programme targetting young people from the University of Guyana (UG) and the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) to become involved in agriculture through the Agricultural Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme.

It is expected that within a year, more young people will turn to farming.

He also highlighted achievements in hydroponics farming.

“Right now, we have the largest hydroponics farm in the Caribbean at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara. There are 100,000 plantlets at any time and we are now replicating that in Regions, Two, Five and 10. Works are ongoing to build hydroponics in three regions,” he said.

AGRICULTURE IS IMPORTANT

Meanwhile, Minister Mustapha emphasised the importance of agriculture to the government, highlighting the growth of the sector over the past four and a half years.

“You heard of our progress; you have seen it in all sectors and for us as a government, agriculture will always remain important for us because our objective is to ensure Guyana becomes food secure. And for us to have food security, we have to invest in agriculture to produce food and our aim is to make Guyana the food provider of the region, the main food producer,” he said.

The minister added that the current administration has developed every single village and every corner of this country, and they will continue to meet with the people, the stakeholders, working with them to develop the agricultural sector.

He told the group of residents and farmers that his presence in the village is to continue the work which started four and a half years ago since agriculture is one of the most important activities in Guyana and around the world.

“Judge us by our records .,, Be honest enough to make the correct decision for progress to continue beyond 2025 in Guyana,” he said.