-Ministry of Agriculture
The Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) says that farmers from the Upper Corentyne area will soon commence several projects to bring all available land into productive use, further boosting the region’s production.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture on Saturday said that approximately 30,000 acres of land, including privately held areas near Moleson Creek in Upper Corentyne have been earmarked for infrastructural development for agriculture-related activities. This disclosure, MoA said, was made by Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha during a meeting with farmers on Saturday where he officially formed a committee to manage the implementation of the programme.
During the meeting, MoA said that Mustapha disclosed that private cane farmers held approximately 10,000 acres of land while the various co-ops from the area had varying amounts, totaling approximately 30,000 acres. Mustapha, according to MoA, explained that while some farmers indicated that they wanted to recommence cane farming, other farmers expressed interest in other areas.
“Some farmers indicate that they want to go back to cane, some farmers indicated that they want to start planting corn, while some are looking at the other crop that we want to start, like hemp. So, we want to start work as soon as possible. This project is long in the making so I am looking to start from the Upper Corentyne side, Moleson Creek end coming down. Some of the farmers wanted to start back growing cane because, you know, we started to do cane cultivation once again at Skeldon. This year, we will plant 1,500 hectares. By next year we’re looking to plant up to 5,000 hectares, but we have to start the programme”, Mustapha was quoted as saying.
According to MoA, the committee established by Mustapha comprises three private cane farmers along with representatives of co-ops from El Dorado, Landless, Leeds Pioneer, Baba Grant, Friendly Farmers, Babylon, Hunter’s Scheme, and Johannesburg. Other committee members include senior officers from the Guyana Rice Development Board, the Guyana Livestock Develop-ment Authority, the National Agriculture Research and Extension Institute, and the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority.
The committee will be chaired by the Ministry’s Director General, Madanlall Ramraj, the MoA release said. Mustapha also established another committee to oversee the operation of various pumps in the region. This committee will be chaired by Regional Vice Chairman, Zamal Hussain, and comprises representatives from the Water Users Associations, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority, the Guyana Rice Development Board, and local farmers.
