PPP/C Presidential Candidate Irfaan Ali on Saturday evening promised to revitalise agriculture in Region Six if he is elected as the next president of Guyana.
Saying that agriculture is the government’s business, Ali argued that government has a responsibility to support farming and agriculture. Against this background, he said a PPP/C government would lead the way to make Region Six an agriculture capital.
Ali also said a government led by him would invest in farm-to-market roads, drainage and irrigation services and stronger and better markets in an effort to support farmers and ensure they become sustainable and profitable.
“You will be voting for a vibrant agriculture sector. You will be voting for a vibrant sugar industry. You will be voting for an expanding rice industry with support from the government. You will be voting for a new modern viable aquaculture sector. You will be voting for a fishery industry. You will be voting for the small farmers, you will be voting for better support for D&I services. You will be voting for every single farmer in this region,” he told supporters at a public meeting in Republic Square, Corriverton.
Further, Ali said, that they will work to ensure the return of sugar in a “big way” so as to provide employment. “We have to ensure sugar is viable and sustainable,” he added.
He stressed, that it is important to ensure that sugar workers in the future must never worry “about the survival of their jobs again,” while stating that the PPP/C understands that sugar is linked to every segment of economic life in communities throughout the country.
He warned residents to be mindful of who they select to govern Guyana next while accusing the APNU+AFC of seeking to mislead them after closing the Skeldon Sugar Estate. He told the crowd, which was packed with PPP/C supporters from Corriverton and Orealla, that they have felt the brunt of the “incompetence” of the current government. “You have lost jobs, you’ve lost income, many of you have lost your homes… You have lost markets, you have lost income, you have lost your livelihood,” he said to the crowd, which also comprised laid off sugar workers.
According to him, the PPP/C will work to ensure that there is a bridge across the Corentyne River connecting Guyana to Suriname to expand “your market, giving you access to new opportunities and connecting not only neighbours but connecting trade by exploring and investing in a free trade zone to support trade and commerce here in Region Six.”
Further touching on Region Six directly, Ali charged that the fishery sector has faced tremendous hardship under the present government, not only with taxes on equipment and supplies but also in the area of security. “Many of them have lost their lives, and what has the government done? Up to the last incident they did not even have the courtesy to come and meet with those families,” he claimed. “We are going to address the issues of our fisherfolks. We must ensure that they are secure. We must equip them. We must put systems in place that will ensure their safety when they go out there to earn their living. We must support them with equipment, we must support them with tax incentives and we must support them in getting markets,” he added.
Meanwhile, according to Ali, while the present government is yet to outline a clear strategy as to how Guyanese will benefit from the oil revenues, the PPP/C will invest in the infrastructure that will enable the people to benefit.
He said resources from the oil and gas sector will be used to build other parts of the economy to further support farming and agriculture throughout the country, so that Guyana can become a sustainable food basket for the Caribbean.
“We have to support you by giving you our land, not by taking away your land leases, not by increasing land rent and land taxes. We are going to reverse that and we are going to open up new land so that you can have more areas for farming so that you can increase the production of goods, of food,” he said.
He told his supporters to look forward to a new wave of investments with government support in Region Six, which will expand and sustain the agriculture sector so as to bring back the industry’s vibrancy and profitability.
He stressed that his government will support farmers by investing in new infrastructure. Pointing to Black Bush Polder, he said, “We started by building that road, we got investment, we got the resources to build that road. We now have to link that to agro-processing facilities so that when you have an over production of pepper and so on, we can process it so that you will not have a situation where the price is too low to even reap the crop”.
According to Ali, the PPP/C would ensure a micro-credit and grant facility for farmers so that they could expand production in agriculture, as well as investments in certification of products so that farmers can access new markets with better prices.
Ali further said that the new Region Six will see support for industrial development as well with not only lands but incentives so that more industries will be established to create new employment. “Region Six will become a hub for industrial development,” he promised.
According to Ali, citizens can expect a state-of-the-art economy built on diversification under a next PPP/C government.
