The Indigenous Village of Rupertee, located in the Annai Sub-District, Region Nine will soon benefit from a number of government incentives to boost the village’s economy and agriculture output.
During an outreach to the several villages in the North Rupununi District on Tuesday, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha met with representatives of the village to discuss government’s plans for agricultural development in the region. As part of a two-day outreach exercise, Mustapha visited the village’s Black Giant Poultry Project site. Senior Village Councilor, Surish Andries said that with the current facility in place, the project has the ability to expand and further improve the village’s ability to supply poultry to other villages in the region. “The building is currently underutilized. We want to be able to fully utilize this facility. That is our target. We’ve had a few challenges with attacks from the wildlife where animals would come in the pen. This species of bird is very new to us and it is serving as a learning experience for us. (Guyana Livestock and Development Authority) has an officer here who is really helping us with the records and so. We also need an incubator. A small one to assist with our production,” Andries said.
After visiting the facility, Mustapha also met with several villagers to listen to some of their requests to improve agriculture. During his engagement, Mustapha disclosed that an additional three million dollars will be spent to develop agriculture in Rupertee.
“We’ll construct fences to enhance your cattle rearing. We’ll construct a well so that you can benefit from a potable water supply. And finally, we’ll build a house, a ‘kapetash’. Your community will be enhanced. We’ll also be working with you to develop your livestock industry with pasture development and access to improved breeds through artificial insemination and breeding bulls. Soon, we’ll be making more donations to all of the villages in Region Nine. Each village in Region Nine will experience some form of development from the Ministry of Agriculture this year because I believe the same benefits farmers on the coast are receiving, farmers in this region should benefit from as well,” Mustapha said.
The minister also told the villagers that with the Ministry working to develop the non-traditional crops sector, areas like Rupertee and other villages in Region Nine will have to play a major role given the vast amounts of land available. “Although we are investing in our traditional crops, we are also promoting the cultivation of non-traditional and high-income earning crops. Areas like Rupertee in Region Nine will be important areas for us because we recognize, over the years, we’ve been importing millions of dollars in corn for the poultry industry. We have the ability to satisfy the local markets and government has been putting the necessary systems in place to bring Guyana to a place where it can start producing these crops on a large scale,” Mustapha said.
