-country well on its way to producing livestock feed to supply regional markets, says Agriculture Minister

GUYANA in 2023 sowed 10,000 acres of corn and soya bean and the country is now inching closer to being a self-sufficient producer of the grains.

At a year-end news conference over the weekend, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha told reporters that production will increase over the next two years as the country aims to produce and supply feed for livestock to regional markets.

In 2024, it is projected that the country could bring into production 26,000 acres of grains. The aim is to bring into production 30,000 acres by the end of 2025.

“In 2023, we continued our government’s unwavering support for corn and soya bean production and expansion with a wharf at Tacama adding to the previous investment of the Tacama road, and drying and storage facility,” he added.

In 2021, six local companies and a regional firm together undertook a massive project that could see Guyana becoming self-sufficient in corn and soya beans over the next few years.

The owners of Guyana Stockfeed Ltd., Royal Chicken, Edun Farms, SBM Wood, Dubulay Ranch, and Bounty Farm Ltd., along with the Brazilian-owned NF Agriculture, have partnered to produce soya bean and corn for both the local and regional markets.

Other investors have also signalled their interest in tapping into the production of the grains.

“[With] two new investors in 2023, Santa Fe and Iring Integrated in Region Nine and another two new investors, Sheriff Group and Farmland Inc in 2024, we are on our target for self-sufficiency to produce all the livestock feed and reducing our dependency on imports by 2025,” the minister said.

Almost 41 kilometres of road was recently constructed in the Tacama area to support the production of corn and soya bean.

Additionally, the construction of three 3,000-tonne silos and one 80-tonne-per hour drying tower was built.

Simultaneously, the government invested $1.150 billion in the livestock industry in 2023, rolling out several innovative programmes to boost the industry. These included the Guyana Livestock Development Authority GLDA’s Genetic Improvement Programme under which 64 breeding bulls were imported from Texas, over 50 confirmed pregnancies under the Embryo Transfer Programme and a massive increase of 1,555 Bovine artificial inseminations. Additionally, 19,000 acres of pasture lands were upgraded in Regions Two, Three, Five, Six and 10.

To further assist farmers, the government partnered with commercial banks to lower their interest rates on loans for the poultry sector from eight per cent to five per cent.