Farmers in Region Five have received a boost to their efforts with the issuing by the government of leases for agriculture pursuits.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture yesterday informed that its Mahaica, Mahaicony, Abary-Agriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA) had hosted its annual Open Day activity at its Onverwagt office. Among the activities was the issuance of 128 leases for agricultural purposes to farmers from Region Five.
It noted that the issuance of leases for lands is usually the most important event of the Open Day, which was hosted for the first time in two years due to the Covid-19 restrictions which were introduced to curb the global pandemic.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha who spoke at the event remarked that since taking office, the government has been “steadfast in its efforts” to restore the operations within the MMA scheme and assured that the government will continue to provide the necessary support to increase production in the area.
One of the persons who received leases during the activity was 21-year-old University of Guyana student, Vevekeanand Ramnarace. While he did not study agriculture, the young lessee said that he has always had an interest in agriculture, more so rice cultivation due to the fact that he grew up seeing his father in the fields planting rice to take care of their family. He plans to utilise his two 18-acre plots to plant rice and continue in his father’s footsteps.
According to the release, when the government took office in August 2020, Cabinet approved some $90 million to carry out emergency works on critical infrastructure in the MMA scheme.
Mustapha stated, “We’ve been working to restore this scheme, the MMA Scheme. We’ve worked to ensure it is, once again, viable and able to function effectively. Before this government took office there was a period where we saw a rapid decline in production in the MMA in all the sectors. This was due to the unfavourable conditions and measures that were implemented by the previous government. These systems were not conducive to the development of agriculture in this country. This government under the leadership of His Excellency President Dr. Irfaan Ali recognizes the importance of agriculture. We saw and took note of what took place in the world during the pandemic. Many countries had money but were unable to purchase food because of global shortages and import restrictions. Guyana produces 60 per cent of the food we consume but we want to produce more.”
