AGRICULTURE Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, recently met with members of the Private Sector Commission’s (PSC) Agriculture Sub-Committee to discuss expanding collaboration between the government and private sector through public-private partnerships aimed at further advancing Guyana’s agriculture industry.

During the engagement, Minister Mustapha highlighted the government’s strong track record over the past five years of working closely with private investors to implement transformative agricultural projects.

“We have been putting in the infrastructure while the private sector has been making investments into the crops,” the Minister explained. “We worked with the consortium Tacama Gold to cultivate corn and soya for the livestock sector. The government built the roads, silos, and wharf, while the consortium made the cultivation investments. This is how we have to do things—it shouldn’t be a government-only programme.”

Minister Mustapha emphasised that this model of shared responsibility and investment has proven effective and will continue to guide the sector’s expansion. Over the next five years, he said, the government will continue to invest in critical infrastructure to support the diversification and modernisation of Guyana’s agriculture industry.

The Minister also disclosed plans to strengthen the rice sector through the establishment of new storage facilities. “In the rice industry, we see what is going on with the world market. So, we are looking to build storage facilities. The first will be built in Essequibo, with a tender already out for a facility capable of storing about two million bags of paddy. We are also identifying other locations for additional facilities,” he noted.

The meeting underscored the government’s commitment to deepening collaboration with the private sector to boost food security, enhance value-added production, and position Guyana as a leading agricultural hub in the region.