Guyana advances role as regional food security anchor
– as Pres Ali opens COSALFA 52nd General Meeting
President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali on Wednesday positioned Guyana as a rising agricultural powerhouse and a cornerstone of Caribbean food security.
During his feature address at the 52nd General Meeting of the South American Commission for the Fight Against Foot-and-Mouth Disease (COSALFA) at the Pegasus Hotel and Corporate Centre in Kingston, Georgetown, President Ali linked Guyana’s disease-free status to a broader vision of sovereign food production in an increasingly unstable world.
Guyana is now designated free of foot-and-mouth disease without vaccination, joining Brazil, Bolivia, Belize, Dominican Republic, Peru, Suriname, and Chile in that elite category.
“Guyana’s designation as free of foot-and-mouth disease is more than a veterinary achievement. It is a strategic advantage for both Guyana and the wider Caribbean,” the president said.
The head of state noted that this achievement establishes Guyana as a reliable supplier of safe, high-quality meat and dairy products within CARICOM, at a time when the region is working to reduce its heavy dependence on imported food.
President Ali warned that global turbulence is already reshaping the region’s food landscape.
“Given the present global turbulence arising from the volatile situation in the Middle East, international shipping networks are facing disruption. Fertiliser supplies are being constrained. Grain shipments are delayed. And livestock trade logistics have become increasingly uncertain.”
“This is not a distant crisis. It is a present reality,” he added.
Citing a regional livestock sector comprising roughly 590 million susceptible animals managed by nearly 5 million farmers, the president stressed that “a single outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease could devastate food security, rural livelihoods, and trade across Latin America and the Caribbean.”
Guyana, he said, has embraced a bold vision to become a net food exporter of safe, high-quality agricultural products within the decade, anchored in the 25 by 2030 initiative to reduce CARICOM food imports by US $4.6 billion.
The region is targeting 78,000 tonnes of meat, 261,000 tonnes of poultry and eggs, and 620,000 tonnes of dairy by 2030, with US $650 million in livestock investment opportunities on the table.
Domestically, Guyana is transforming Region Five (Mahaica-Berbice) into the country’s and CARICOM’s livestock capital, advancing a genetic improvement programme valued at nearly US $1 million annually, procuring PCR systems to boost diagnostic capacity, and engaging biotechnology partners on applied research.
Discussions are also ongoing for a private sector-led vaccine manufacturing facility in Guyana.
President Ali reminded delegates that the work ahead demands tangible follow-through.
“Our work here does not end with applause. It ends with action. It ends with stronger laboratories, better traceability, faster response times, and deeper trust among neighbours.”
The conference is organised by the Pan American Foot-and-Mouth Disease and Veterinary Public Health Centre (PANAFTOSA/SPV-PAHO/WHO), with the support of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana through the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA).