Government is in the process of repossessing unutilized lands in the intermediate savannahs that were given out to holdings for plantation type agriculture to make them available to others.
Meanwhile, President Bharrat Jagdeo has said that Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) had expressed an interest in agricultural pursuits in Guyana “but unfortunately we have been unable to move beyond expressions of interests.”
At a press conference he held at the Office of the President on Tuesday, the President said with regard to T&T’s interest, “When we tried to pin down specific projects we have not had much success.” Trinidad has since announced it is setting up its own mega farms on the twin-island
While speaking about the rising cost of living and ensuring food security and how this could be dealt with, Jagdeo said that plantation-type agriculture was important for Guyana.
At present, he said, there are a few proposals which are being examined. He said that lands given out to large-scale holdings but not utilized are being recovered to make them available to others with plans to develop them.
He noted that in June Guyana would be hosting a conference under the aegis of Caricom to bring regional government officials and investors in agriculture along with their bankers to see how much business could be done.
Noting that the government was ensuring that adequate supplies of rice are available in Guyana, Jagdeo said that the price of rice could not be kept low when the current rate on the world market is now US$700 per tonne and farmers would want to benefit from the world price. Basmati rice is also now selling at US$1,200 per tonne on the world market.
He said that the increase in price was due mainly to drought which is affecting some countries, increased demand for food in emerging economies like China and India, the movement away from production of grains for food to production for ethanol, and the rising cost of oil.
