Government has tabled a proposed allocation of $17.1 Billion for the Agricultural Sector in 2019. Minister of Finance, Winston Jordan yesterday said during his 2019 budget presentation that traditional agriculture has been and will continue to be one of the main pillars of Guyana’s economic development in fact it is forecast to contribute 16.2% to the Gross Domestic Product, in 2018.
The Guyana Sugar Corporation is expected to continue to introduce cost-reducing measures, explore lucrative markets and marketing strategies, and undertake critical capital works with sugar production projected to increase to 113,262 metric tonnes, in 2019 from the projected 98,000 tonnes at the end of this year.
Howeve,r he also noted that diversification efforts must be sped up to take advantage of available resources and solidify the transformation that is required for building economic resilience while prioritizing food safety and security, productivity, improved infrastructure, new value chains and value-added industries that boost investments in agro-processing, and institutional capacity.