Modern scientific farming techniques to ramp up local production

Government is working to introduce modern scientific and technological techniques of farming to stimulate production across Guyana.

His Excellency, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali said Sunday, that the move is a strategic approach towards achieving the 25 by 2025 target in the region.

He made the statement during a media conference hosted at State House.

“If I may give you a simple example, in some crops where an acre of land was used to produce 30 tonnes of tomatoes in the traditional way, using science and technology, a quarter of acres of land can now produce 20 tonnes of tomatoes and that is vertical agriculture,” Dr. Ali said.

Vertical agriculture, the President referenced, is a farming technique used where crops are grown on top of each other, rather than in traditional, horizontal rows.

It ensures higher productivity in a much smaller area; shorter growing time and lower water use.

The President said the new approach is among a number of topics discussed during the recent Thirty-Third Inter-Sessional Meeting of CARICOM Heads of Government, held in Belize.

He said the undertaking will also help in terms of resilience against climate related activities.

“So, it is not only the achievement and the resources required to achieve this plan, but it is also a rethink on the strategy in achieving the plans.”

Meanwhile, President Ali pointed out that during 2018 to 2022, commodities such as rice, water, mineral, sugar, corn, wheat, poultry meat, fish and vegetables, among other items, made up 47 per cent of total import into the CARICOM region.

The five top imports into the region were rice at 1.847 million tonnes, wheat at 1.493 million tonnes, corn at 1.439 million tonnes, sugar at 1.202 million tonnes and vegetables including potato, carrots and cabbage at 717,000 tonnes.

“That is what as a region we import, so I am just presenting these basic numbers so one could understand the potential that exists. One could understand that there is a ready demand in the region and this demand does not include the projection for the future,” he said.

The President stressed that the investment in agriculture and agriculture expansion presents a low hanging fruit of opportunity for CARICOM in achieving food security.