The Agriculture Ministry will look to expand on projects that were initiated under the PPP/C administration including a pilot project for the cultivation of soya beans and corn at Ebini in the Berbice River by the Brazilian company NF Agriculture Incorporated.
Chief Executive Officer, National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), Dr Oudho Homenauth told Stabroek News last week that the project was a continuation of an arrangement that was already in place prior to the APNU+AFC Coalition government being elected to office in May.
He said that currently 25 acres of land owned by NAREI are being utilised by the company for demonstration/research. Homenauth said that for now no project proposal has been submitted but he does expect that soon the company will have a comprehensive one for a large scale development project.
Agriculture Minister Noel Holder recently met with the Managing Director of NF Agricul-ture Yucatan Reis to discuss the potential investment following the findings of the research done at NAREI.
Homenauth said that Guyana was looking to encourage Brazilian investors to come to Guyana, highlighting that Guyana could benefit from incorporating technologies being used across the border.
NAREI’s CEO told Stabroek News that the lands that were made available can be obtained by companies looking to do small trials. He noted that any investment from NF Agriculture would be on a larger scale.
Reis had been one of the principals of Muri Brasil Ventures Inc which had entered an agreement in 2012 with the PPP/C government for highly controversial mineral surveys of the New River Triangle in southern Guyana. Under the Permission for Geological and Geophysical Survey, the company had been granted the exclusive right to conduct surveys for rare earth elements, bauxite, limestone, nephelene, syenite, gold, diamonds and granite stones in South East Berbice for a period of 36 months from November 7, 2012.
After an outcry over the likelihood of prospecting licences being granted to the company in this sensitive area, the deal was scrapped. Reis had also attracted comment over his appearance on a PPP platform in Lethem prior to the 2011 general elections.
Last month, GINA said that a meeting between delegations from the Guyana and Brazilian Governments in Brazil was facilitated by NF Agriculture Inc.
The Agriculture Minister and his accompanying team: Permanent Secre-tary, Ministry of Agriculture George Jervis; Dr Homenauth and Agriculture Diversification Specialist, Ministry of Agriculture Dr. Jean David were also taken on tours to major soya bean cultivations. During the visit, the Managing Director of NF Agriculture, Reis, accompanied by Geison Nicaretta, Alcione Nicoletti and Afranio Webber exposed the Guyanese team to technologies that are used on farms there.
GINA said that the project by NF Agriculture Inc is expected to significantly aid the Caribbean in reducing its imports of soya beans and corn.