Guyana surpasses target for millet cultivation– Min. Mustapha

Guyana has surpassed its target for millet cultivation by 100 per cent as 1,300 acres of land are currently under cultivation at the Tacama Mega Farm along the Berbice River.

The undertaking is aligned with the country’s diversification journey into the production of new crops aimed at ensuring food security and self-sufficiency.

This was revealed by Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on Thursday, during an interview with the Department of Public Information (DPI) in Mahaicony, Region Five.

“This is only the beginning. When the president went to India, he made a commitment to the Indian Government that we will start with 500 acres of millet. We have surpassed that by over 100 per cent. We are now at 1,300,” the agriculture minister stated.

The millet crop is proving to be very resilient and can tolerate severe weather conditions. Millets which are small-seeded grasses with a wide range of varieties are commonly cultivated as cereal crops or grains for human consumption and animal fodder worldwide.

Its many advantages include low production costs and excellent nutritional value. The crop can also be utilised to manufacture a number of products.

While highlighting plans to expand the production of millet in other areas, the agriculture minister emphasised that farmers from across the country have already signalled their interest in being a part of the undertaking.  

“There are many farmers…who would have called to tell me that they are interested in going into this form of production,” Minister Mustapha stated.

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali had underlined at the Global Millet Conference Inauguration, in New Delhi, that trials for millet production will be conducted in Regions Four, Nine, and Ten to facilitate the shift to locally produced seed on a large-scale basis.

Back in August 2023, Guyana received a quantity of finger and barnyard millet seeds from India to commence millet production trials.