Dear Editor,
I wish to respond to an editorial published in the Thursday, November 2, 2023 edition of the Stabroek News titled `Missing the link’. Essentially, the editorial questions whether Guyana can truly lower its food import bill by 25% by 2025.
Since assuming office in August 2020, the Irfaan Ali-led PPP/C government has made clear its desire to lower Guyana’s food import bill in five years (2020 to 2025). This vision was presented and adopted by other leaders in CARICOM which subsequently birthed ‘Vision 25 by 2025’. After examining and identifying the targeted commodities, a 25% reduction was agreed upon by CARICOM Member States and efforts have since been made to achieve this.
The writer referenced the World Bank’s figures on Guyana’s food import bill for 2021 and 2022. While some commodities would have experienced growth in value of imports, much of the growth would have resulted from an increase in prices as against volume. It is no secret that world market and food prices are increasing and have increased over the years. So, even in highlighting the increase, it would’ve been responsible for the writer to say why the import bill had increased.
Another point to note was the editor’s mention of the commodities that are being imported. The editor mentioned things like mineral and aerated water, sausages and other similar meat products, meat offal, beverages, spirits, vinegar, salt, dairy products, eggs, honey, cereals, flour, starch, coffee, tea, cocoa, spices, vegetable oils, pet food, forage crops, margarine, poultry, wine, and wine-based products.
The Government, through the Ministry of Agriculture, and the local Private Sector has been working assiduously towards creating an enabling environment for the scaling up of production of the very commodities listed such as sausages, spices, special cuts of meat, eggs, honey, coffee, and beverages and fruit juices. In fact, in 2022, there were declines in the volume of Vegetables (fresh, chilled, frozen or simply preserved), roots, tubers and other edible vegetable products; Milk and cream and milk products other than butter or cheese; Fruit, (preserved, preparations); Fish (fresh, chilled or frozen); Cocoa; Spices; and Tea and maté.
The point in the editorial that in order to reduce the food import bill requires more focus on what is actually imported, misses the point on backward linkages of sectors and particularly input supply security. The editor as well fails to recognize the business/export case that Guyana is building by positioning itself to supply the Region and its comparative advantage in industries such as aquaculture and livestock production which require a stable feed source. As a result, by bolstering corn and soy production, the goal of substantially reducing poultry inputs, can be easier realized. Specifically, Corn & Soya meal imports in 2021 amounted to approximately US$48m. Government as a result has expended approximately $1 billion over the period 2021 to 2022 for the construction of a 47 km road which will ensure accessibility to 61,000 hectares of prime farmland for corn and soya cultivation. To further these efforts, the construction of three silos with a capacity to store up to 30,000 tonnes each and one 80-tonne-per-hour drying tower at the Tacama Landing to ensure adequate storage capacity and reduce post-harvest losses was also undertaken. Works are also ongoing on the construction of a wharf in the Tacama Savannah to the tune of approximately $150 million which will provide critical riverain access to the area under cultivation.
Another substantial area of food imports into the region is the fruits and vegetables industry. The region’s total edible fruits and vegetables imports are in the vicinity of US$317m. Lucrative investment opportunities exist in Guyana and the region at large for large-scale commercial cultivation of horticultural crops, fruits, and vegetables, particularly in the natural, “wholesome,” and “health” food varieties. Target commodities in this category include bell peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, kale, cabbage, parsley, celery, strawberries, blueberries, as well as orchard-farming fruits such as cherry, guava, soursop, strawberry, citrus, and mango.
In this regard, the Agriculture Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP) which was launched by President, Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali in January 2022, and is intended to stimulate and promote economic growth and improve the lives of young agriculturists, can be seen as a critical component of the import reduction programme. In fact, when the project was first launched, imported cauliflower was retailing for around $1,700 a pound. Currently, cauliflower produced through the AIEP is now being retailed at the more accessible price of $500 on the local market. For 2023, some five tonnes of bell peppers were produced along with one tonne of chili peppers, 2.4 tonnes of cauliflower and over 300,000 heads of lettuce. Some 75 per cent of persons involved in this initiative have moved on to own their own agricultural business.
Additionally, around 200 shade houses were erected for youth-based organisations across the country, increasing the involvement of more youths and women in the agriculture sector, with a targeted involvement rate of 35%.
Additionally, a new hydroponic farming project initiative has recently been launched in Guyana valued at US$4.5m – the largest in the Caribbean, targeting 300 young Guyanese across three administrative regions (2, 5 & 10) and will see participants developing skills in marketing, packaging and promotion. Funding comes through the Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI) – a US$100 million investment from the Stabroek block partners, ExxonMobil, Hess, and CNOOC. Editor, these are all strategic and substantial investments made by the Government of Guyana, in reducing the food import bill.
Last July, while addressing stakeholders at a poultry symposium hosted by the ministry’s livestock department, H.E. President Dr. Irfaan Ali disclosed plans to co-invest in both sausage and protein plants. “In the forward planning, I am now proposing that we have some co-investment in a sausage plant, to meet the local and regional demand; a protein plant for aquaculture, because when we ramp up production, we’ll have more waste products that we can use for the production of protein for aquaculture; and the chicken nugget facility that comes with the sausage plant,” President Ali said.
As it relates to eggs, Minister Mustapha had said that the Government had also committed $50 million towards establishing a breeder programme, so hatching eggs can be produced locally. He disclosed that the government was in talks with a private farmer who had already started the breeder project and that some $50 million had been allocated in this year’s budget to start the breeder programme.
The government through the Ministry of Agriculture has also been steadfast in its efforts to establish a solid dairy and beef industries. These efforts have been amplified through the recent acquisition of breeding bulls from Texas as well as the ongoing embryo transfer programme in Region Ten (Ebini) that is being facilitated through collaborations between the Ministry of Agriculture and the Brazilian Agricultural Research Corporation (Embrapa).
Additionally, last February senior officials from the Israeli Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with Demerara Distillers Limited’s Chairman, Komal Samaroo, and his delegation, to finalize a project with the LR Group for the establishment of a dairy farm in Guyana. This will ultimately result in the establishment of the first state-of-the-art dairy farm in the Caribbean and will make a significant contribution to food security in the region and a dent in dairy imports.
The government has also made progress in its efforts to develop the local honey sector. Only recently during the just concluded Agri-Investment Forum and Expo the Ministry of Agriculture signed an MoU with the Republic of Cuba making way for apiculturists from Guyana to benefit from technical assistance in several critical areas needed to develop and sustain a thriving honey industry.
Earlier this year, farmers from several villages in Region One (Barima–Waini) received $20 million worth of planting materials for ginger, black pepper, and other spices to commence large-scale cultivation of spices with the aim of supplying export markets across the Caribbean. Last year, farmers of Regions One, Four, Six, and 10 also received more than 3,500 black pepper cuttings.
So far, some 250 acres of turmeric and ginger are currently being cultivated at farms in Mabaruma and Matarkai which are expected to be harvested by the end of the year. Each acre is expected to produce approximately 12,000 lbs of turmeric.
Additionally, farmers will also be able to access agro-processing facilities in the region to further push the local production of by-products. A trial for the production of black pepper, cinnamon, and mint has also begun in the Aroaima Savannah, Region Ten.
As it relates to coffee, during this year’s National Toshaos’ Conference, Minister Mustapha disclosed that the government was working on resuscitating the entire coffee industry. He noted that the government was working with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to get this done. He explained that the government was working on a long-term plan that would see the establishment of nurseries in various communities to ensure planting materials are readily available. Through this venture, some 200 acres of coffee (100 acres of Arabica and 100 acres of improved Liberica coffee) will be cultivated.
President Ali had also informed the Toshaos that one of his government’s plans is to “reignite and expand” both the coffee and cocoa industries in Guyana.
While all of this is being done, efforts are also being made to encourage consumers to buy and support local. For decades Guyana has been importing these commodities which has led to consumers adapting to certain tastes. While development is taking place and people have more disposable income and are exposed to different things from their overseas engagements, the demand for new commodities may arise.
And while the government is cognizant of the implications that importing new commodities may have on its overall food import bill, the PPP/C has never engaged in dictatorial tactics and is not prepared to restrict Private Sector companies from importing such commodities. Dictatorships don’t make good policies and unilateral imposition of failed policies have proven to result in major economic hardships. The government is therefore encouraged to continue in its efforts to ensure locally made products are appropriately packaged and presented in such a way where they can compete with the products that are being imported. In this way companies may not see the need to import such commodities.
Respectfully,
Janell Cameron
Public Relations Officer
Ministry of Agriculture