Regional agritech centre on the agenda – President

President Irfaan Ali addressing the meeting

A regional Agritech (Agriculture Technology) Cam-pus, which will be supported by the Indian government, will soon be established and developing technology to further increase food production and productivity, President Irfaan Ali says.

“Guyana is going to put a lot of financing into developing the regional agritech centre… We are working with the Bangalore Centre in India and they will be transferring their technology and working with us,” Ali disclosed in an address to those gathered for a Caribbean Lead-ers’ Open Dialogue hosted by Caribbean Association of the World Bank Group and IMF Staff (CAWI).

Ali stressed that the centre will not only support Guyana’s ambitious food security goal but the entire region. He stated that through the establishment of the centre, ways will be looked at in which agriculture technology can be adapted to become applicable for regional development and varieties of food. At the celebration of India’s 74th Republic Anniversary in January, President Ali had announced that discussions are ongoing with the Bangalore Bio-Innovation Centre. The centre, he said at that time, will focus on technological aspects, including research and development, technology, human resource training, and improvement in policies that will lead to greater yield and productivity.