Gov’t commits to clearing 90 acres for agri production in Region Ten

– marine cages, livestock rearing to be developed

The government is currently in the process of clearing a total of 90 acres of land valued at $25 million in River’s View, Region Ten for agricultural production.

This forms part of the government’s goal of reducing the food import bill by 25 per cent by 2025 and ensuring that every village across the country is contributing to that initiative.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali stressed that his government is investing heavily in the agriculture sector so that the country can be self-sufficient in terms of food production.

“We are now working to clear 90 acres of land and make it accessible for agricultural production and that will be a cost of $25 million that will be spent within your community,” the head-of-state noted.

The president was at the time speaking during an outreach in the region on Thursday at River’s View community benab where he also engaged residents of Falmouth.

Additionally, 50 acres of that land will be developed by the Ministry of Agriculture for red cabbage, sweet potato, and peppers among other crops.

“We will develop either 20 or 10 acres for the sweet potatoes, maybe another 10 acres for the red cabbage, and the rest with cash crops and cassava. We will also work to have the red cabbage integrated into the Guyana Marketing Corporation so that you can have a market when you reap,” the president disclosed.

By next week the ministry is expected to gather these materials and engage with the residents of the village on an approach to go about planting the crops.

Moreover, assessments are being carried out to see if marine cages can be installed to commence the rearing of fish in the region.

“We will explore with you, especially young people and women, whether we can establish two marine cages here. The marine cages will help us to rear fishes in a modern way. We will see to have this market expanded whether to have it salted or dried,” President Ali stated.

The agriculture ministry will also be working with the village to see if a communal pasture can be developed in the area.

Residents, specifically young people, and women will also benefit from training in beekeeping. The government will invest in 50 hives and the respective protective gear to undergo this training.

25 of those hives will be distributed in River’s View while another 25 will be distributed in Falmouth.

With all these investments being made by the government within Region Ten, President Ali reminded the residents of the Timehri\Sand Hill Road link project which is being developed and is deemed to create a plethora of investment opportunities for geographical location.

Last year, the government spent some $230 million on the project which saw 44 kilometres of space being cleared and 10 kilometres being upgraded into fair weather roads. The tender process would’ve just been completed for another stretch of 11 kilometres to be upgraded.