–commissioning expected by month-end, Minister Mustapha says
GUYANA’S Agricultural Situation Room is on track to be commissioned by the end of June, with data integration now underway following the completion of the facility’s technical infrastructure, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has announced.
“We are now putting in the data and will have the commissioning by the end of this month,” Minister Mustapha said during a meeting last week with Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) Director Dr. Muhammad Ibrahim.
The situation room is designed to serve as a central repository for real-time agricultural data, supporting evidence-based decision-making, project monitoring and policy development. The initiative is being developed with support from the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).
The digital infrastructure is intended to support a range of priorities, from crop and livestock planning to monitoring progress on major projects.
The situation room will improve coordination, and provide the analytics needed for timely policy and operational decisions.
“We have everything set up, so now they are now putting [together] data that will achieve our objective with the situation room,” Mustapha said.
The situation room initiative aligns directly with President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s call for the sector to embrace modern technology, data-driven decision-making and digital infrastructure as central pillars of Guyana’s agricultural transformation.
President Ali has repeatedly emphasised that technology, ranging from smart-monitoring systems to predictive analytics, must be integrated into every layer of the country’s food-production systems improving efficiency, enhancing resilience, and driving competitiveness.
Minister Mustapha noted that the collaboration with IICA continues to play a vital role in supporting Guyana’s transition to a smarter, technology-driven agricultural sector, and that the situation room will significantly elevate the country’s ability to safeguard production and support farmers nationwide.
The initiative of establishing a situation room was first touted by President Ali back in 2023.
Dr. Ali, while addressing the 2023 regional Agriculture Investment Forum and Expo held in Guyana, had said that in order for the Caribbean region to attain its regional food-security goals, innovation and digitisation will need to be pivotal factors.
Dr. Ali, during that forum, had proposed multiple initiatives to incorporate data and technology into its local food-production industry.
“We have recognised that technology gives us the opportunity to connect the farmers directly with extension officers instantaneously. And part of the innovative investment that we will make here is to create a proactive information sharing and response platform,” the President had said.
