Region Five youth to tap into lucrative agro-business ventures

President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali has introduced new sustainable and lucrative agro-business ventures for Guyanese youth to improve their living standards.

During a meeting on Tuesday with over 40 young people from Region Five, the president outlined a comprehensive plan for ventures in a number of areas including poultry, aquaculture and cattle rearing.

A meeting to explore potential collaborations was held at the Park Square Funcity Recreation Centre, Mahaicony. It brought together representatives from the Guyana Bank for Trade and Industry (GBTI) and Demerara Bank, alongside heads of various agencies under the Ministry of Agriculture.

President Ali explained that the government will develop five acres of land as part of the Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme.

Additionally, he said that the youth will be given an option of being attached to the Onverwagt Prawns project or to any of the burgeoning agriculture projects in the region.

“We are going to make it very compact. The value that these lands will create, for example, if you look at three of the tunnel homes, that’s $150 million. And then, as I said, in this region, we want a group of you to be assigned to one of the ponds, the prawns production facility. And some of you will want to be in a tunnel house,” the president said.  

He further noted that these ventures will involve strong public-private partnerships and promised that banks are ready to support with preferential interest rates for those who require to take out loans.  

The president also encouraged attendees to pool their resources and invest in these projects.

“Let’s say you have $500,000. Ten of you collectively have $5 million. We have experiences now, where, in one of the programmes, we have young people who are working and have the opportunity, they’re using that,” President Ali said.

This initiative forms part of the government’s plan to create a favourable environment that would fuel a transformation of youth entrepreneurship in Guyana’s agricultural and food sector.

In interviews with the Department of Public Information (DPI), several persons expressed their interest in expanding their trades and become more involved in the growing agro-business industry.

Chandan Rampersaud, who has been in the poultry business for nearly six years, said that the meeting was extremely informative and it granted him the opportunity to learn tips to improve himself as a business owner.

“I think it is very nice that small people are getting noticed, and getting the help,” he said.

Similar sentiments were expressed by 35-year-old Dason Langevine, who explained that one of the key challenges he encountered within the poultry sector was finding a sustainable market for his produce.

To this end, President Ali underscored that in addition to establishing storage facilities and agro-processing facilities in all regions, the government is also working to secure niche markets, particularly under the lucrative global market for halal products.

Langevine said the government initiatives will unlock opportunities for young people to expand their business.

“It is very important and I am glad that he came and spoke with the youths because there are a lot of youths today just sitting down not doing anything and there are a lot of ways, we can make money. We can be self-employed with the same poultry farming, and poultry farming is a very important thing in our country right now so I am happy that he has been here,” he expressed.  

Lily Chan was especially pleased with the willingness of GBTI and Demerara Bank to provide the necessary support for the expansion of agro-businesses. She said that access to financing is an issue that has hindered many start-ups.

“I thought the outreach was really a great idea. It gives us a better understanding of what they want to offer to the youth, and having the banks give us an idea of the interest rates and answering our questions about the banking,” Chan said.  

Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, Chief Executive Officer of Guyana Livestock Development Agency, Dr Dwight Walrond, and Director General of the Ministry of Agriculture, Madanlall Ramraj also gave remarks and said that the region is poised for significant agricultural development.

This meeting comes on the heels of similar engagements with youth in regions three and four.