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The Guyana Prison Service is expanding farming at Mazaruni Prison, where its Grow More Campaign, launched in 2020, is achieving key milestones.
Director Nicklon Elliot says this expansion supports the 2021 Agricultural Plan, which aims for self-sufficiency in at least five crops and livestock.
“We’re working to increase available farmland, so many convicted prisoners are now working on the farm daily,” Elliot said.Special remission is granted based on prisoners’ conduct and discipline, which results in time being taken off their sentences. Therefore, prisoners must work on the farms before they qualify for this special remission. It’s about providing incentives and at the same time allowing us to produce on the farm,” he noted.
Additionally, it is pivotal in the correctional services system as it provides and enhances work ethic, training, and development opportunities for inmates.
Only recently, inmates of the Mazaruni penitentiary harvested 183 pounds of Boulanger (Eggplant), 208 pounds of Poi. The cultivation was completely organic.
Chickens, ducks, pigs, sheep, and cows are also being reared at the prison location.
The government allocated a whopping $6 billion to the Prison Service in 2025, and $25 million has been earmarked to support the Grow More Campaign at the various prison facilities.
