Agriculture development plan for Region One to be developed

A regional strategic agriculture development plan for Region One (Barima – Waini) will be developed by the Ministry of Agriculture in collaboration with the Regional Democratic Council, as the government seeks to increase food production in the region.

Regional Chairman, Brentnol Ashley made the announcement during the Regional Toshaos/CDC Chairpersons Conference 2023 held over the weekend.

According to the chairman, consultations with the various Amerindian leaders will be held in August with Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha.

“Gear your minds, these weeks ahead of us are going to be weeks of engagements … not just to socialise but rather constructive in the sense of bringing transformation and development to our communities,” he stated.

Meanwhile, several shade houses are being constructed in several communities through the RDC as it pushes to increase food production in the Barima-Waini region. Additionally, farmers will benefit from more shade houses that will be constructed through the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs.

“That is to help with agriculture investment and development so that once we grow and we produce, our people will have sufficient to eat. We hear the complaints of people saying the greens are too expensive … that tells us, that we need to start doing our part,” he added.

This is integral to Guyana’s vision of becoming food secure and contributes to CARICOM’s goal of reducing the large food import bill by 25 per cent by the year 2025.

Minister of Amerindian Affairs, Pauline Sukhai, Minister of Housing and Water, Collin Croal, Regional Executive Officer, Tikaram Bisesar, NTC representative and heads of government agencies in the region were also present at the conference.