Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha on Monday declared that last week’s 2023 Agri-Investment forum and expo was a major success and said that Guyana is on the verge of achieving its 2025 agenda of reducing the food import bill by 25%.
He spoke at a press briefing at the Ministry of Agriculture, Regent Street, Georgetown where he underscored that Guyana will become the first country in Caricom and Latin America to cultivate bio-fortified rice.
According to him this new development is significant as the nation leads the way in the region and in Latin America.
“Overall, this year’s Agri investment forum was a success and soon we will begin preliminary plans for next year’s expo (which) will of course will be bigger and better”, he said. “We had a local farmers’ market which was a huge success and we are happy that many patrons at the expo supported the expo and purchased fresh fruits and vegetables”, Mustapha said.
Asked whether Guyana has been progressing thus far in reducing the food import bill by 2025, Mustapha said that with the introduction of corn and soya and the cultivation of high-valued crops, the government is hopeful that this becomes a reality.
Detailed information has not been provided by the ministry on how the food import bill is being reduced progressively and which categories. Four major imports: potatoes, onions, garlic and carrots are still not being cultivated here in large quantities.
The Ministry of Agriculture unveiled a new bio-fortified rice variety during the expo that is slated to offer more nutrition and higher yields benefitting both the farmer and the consumer.
A release from the Office of the Prime Minister stated that the rice variety, which was developed by the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), the Latin American Fund for Irrigated Rice (FLAR), and the International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), was launched on Saturday at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre.
Prime Minister Mark Phillips, who gave an address at the unveiling, stated that the rice industry has proven to be indomitable, and has significantly contributed to the agriculture sector in Guyana, the release said.
He said that the government has set ambitious targets for rice production, namely, a 12 percent increase from 559,789 metric tonnes in 2021 to 625,092 metric tonnes in 2023. Factors contributing to this growth include increased agricultural credit, both public and private sector investment, improved seed quality and fertilisers, advancement in research and development, and better infrastructure such as access roads, drainage systems, and irrigation, it added.
The PM also spoke of the government’s commitment to enhancing the capabilities of the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) to conduct the required research and introduce innovative varieties. He noted that on an annual basis, the government allocates over $300 million to promote production while emphasizing that conventional methods were used to produce this variety rather than genetically modified organisms.
This process, he noted, can result in higher levels of zinc accumulation in the grains, providing minerals needed for good cellular and immune health, the release said.
It quoted him as saying: “One-third of the human population, particularly children and women, suffer from zinc deficiency-related health problems. An adequate intake of zinc daily is vital for normal human function. Importantly, this variety was developed using conventional breeding methods, making it a non-genetically modified organism.”
The Expo began on Friday October 20th and ended on Sunday October 22nd at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), and is being held under the theme “Achieving Vision 25 by 2025.”
