-new app will provide live weather updates, market, soil data to farmers

-digital fisherfolk market to come on stream by March month-end, Minister Mustapha announces

WITH a new agriculture app, a regional data hub and satellite-tracked fishing vessels, the Ministry of Agriculture is accelerating its digital-transformation agenda, signalling what Minister Zulfikar Mustapha describes as a new chapter with farming and food production moving beyond traditional methods.

“In another week from now, I will be launching an app where anyone can go on that app and get all the information on agriculture…So, you’re getting the weather forecast,” Minister Mustapha said during a Sunday airing of the ‘Starting Point’ podcast.

The application, ‘Farming in the palm’ will provide weather forecasts and detailed soil maps across the country through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).

Users will be able to search specific areas, such as Black Bush Polder or Linden, and receive guidance on the types of crops best suited to those areas, along with advice on market potential.

“All the information related to agriculture will be in one app, and everybody can get that. So that is the first one we will digitalise,” he said.

Additionally, the ministry is constructing a data centre and situation room which the minister hopes will be commissioned by President, Dr Irfaan Ali, by March. According to him, the facility is approximately 75 per cent complete and is intended to serve not only Guyana, but the wider Caribbean.

“We have one centre like that in the entire Caribbean and Latin America in Costa Rica, where IICA [Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture] has its headquarters. We went there, and the President saw it, and he said that we should build one in Guyana. We are about 75 per cent complete already. So, hopefully by March, we can commission that. You will have the weather for the entire region. You’ll have what kind of crop you could plant in various countries; you will have what type of soils exist in these countries, and a number of information,” he said.

DIGITAL FISHERFOLK MARKET

Turning to the fisheries sector, the minister said a digital marketing platform for fishers will also be launched by the end of March.

He acknowledged that many in the sector have been slow to embrace technology, preferring traditional methods, but stressed the need for cultural change.

“Fisherfolks today, you know, in the fishing industry, like other agriculture sub-sectors, farmers don’t take technology seriously. They want to do things how they used to do it before, how their parents used to do things. So, we want to change that concept. We want to change that culture,” he said.

Funds for this have been allocated in the 2026 national budget.

Minister Mustapha also highlighted ongoing upgrades to landing sites and wharves across the country, as well as the installation of tracking devices on fishing vessels to enhance safety at sea.

More than 500 vessels are now equipped with the devices, which are monitored from a central station to allow authorities to track and assist boats in distress.

“We are now transforming all the landing sites and wharf [sic] across this country. We have purchased these tracking devices that we place on vessels, so when they go out there and they encounter difficulties, we can know which part and track them in the sea and get them back safely to land.

“That was another initiative that we launched when I became Minister of Agriculture. So, we have over 500 vessels now that have these tracking devices, and we have a central station that can monitor these vessels,” he added.

He also revealed that the ministry has been working to revitalise fisherfolk organisations nationwide and is developing a comprehensive database of fishers in collaboration with representatives from various regions.

The combined initiatives, he said, form part of a broader effort to modernise agriculture and fisheries, improve productivity and build resilience through data-driven decision-making.

The Guyana Chronicle had previously reported that these new digital initiatives will be pursued in partnership with key international bodies, including the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO).

Back in 2025, President Ali had said the new digital platform, is expected to become a central tool for farmers, providing round-the-clock access to expert guidance, real-time data, and on-demand support.

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

In addition to this, the National Drainage & Irrigation Authority (NDIA) is currently in the process of creating a single digital platform to monitor the country’s sluices and pumps.

In 2024, the country had launched an Agriculture Information System (AIS), thereby marking a shift in the ministry’s aim to improve the sector through technology.

The AIS features a farm-register module which creates a full database of farmers, including biodata and contact information. It also includes geo-referencing, a farm profile, and a survey module for producing and processing farm surveys.