–IICA’s incoming director backs digital transformation, signals plan for more business-oriented curriculum at GSA, increase in youth engagement

LEVERAGING new technologies and models already established by renowned institutions, the Guyana School of Agriculture, could adopt an advanced curriculum with emphasised focus on business to engage more young people.

This is according to Muhammad Ibrahim, the incoming director general of the Inter-American Institute for Co-operation on Agriculture (IICA), who during an interview with the Guyana Chronicle on the sidelines of a special dialogue at IICA’s Costa Rica headquarters, outlined a proactive vision to modernise the country’s premier agriculture training school.

“Based on my knowledge of some of the schools similar to the Guyana School of Agriculture, how they have advanced in transforming the education system for more engagement of the youths and using better tools for agriculture, that is where I can contribute in terms of modifying the curriculum so that people who are studying at the Guyana School of Agriculture are coming out with a more business mindset approach,” he said.

The agriculture engineer will officially begin performing his duties as director general in January and has signalled his intentions to build on the foundation that has already been laid out by his predecessor, Dr. Manuel Ontero.

He intends to continue advancing the institution’s push for sustainable, climate resilient agriculture, while deepening regional collaboration, innovation and support for member states as they work to strengthen their food systems and agricultural development.

Meanwhile Guyana’s Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said that the GSA is a critical component to developing a resilient agricultural sector for the region.

The curriculum of the institution will be enhanced offering courses in ICT and biotechnology.

“What we want to with GSA is create a centre of excellence, now we will modernise it in a way, it will not only be Guyana, all over the Caribbean we will have people attending that institution.”

Mustapha noted that the curriculum will take a very targeted approach as courses, training and other learning material will be aligned with the needs of the region’s food systems.

“The centre of excellence will be a modern centre, complemented by a fab lab, a practical lab,” he said.

“That is the way we are modernising the agriculture sector in terms of bringing new technologies, so students can learn first-hand, modernisation in the agriculture and we will extend that to the Caribbean,” he added.

Over the last five years, the Government of Guyana has also offered scholarships to Caribbean Community [CARICOM] countries for students to study at the GSA.

Currently, students from St. Lucia, Barbados, Grenada and Jamaica are attending the institution.

New upgrades to the institution will feature a situational room and state-of-the-art data analytic platform to support regional food security and food production.

A robotic model farm too is expected to be built, integrating greater use of technology in precision agriculture.

The government has already mapped out plans for a smart surveillance system which supports predictive analytics and early- warning mechanisms, enabling a more proactive approach to farming.

This digital transformation of Guyana’s agriculture sector aligns with broader national goals of food security, climate resilience, and economic diversification.

In a few weeks’ time the country is expected to launch its ‘Palm App’ giving farmers direct access to education materials, real-time guidance and one-on-one communication with extension officers.

These initiatives Mustapha reiterated are all aimed at positioning Guyana at the forefront of the region’s food security agenda.