-Mustapha says mega farms planned
Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha over the weekend handed over a Mavic Multispectral drone to the Region Nine Agriculture Department in the North Rupununi Sub-District to assist with soil testing and analyses.
The Ministry of Agriculture in a release yesterday said that farmers from several villages across the Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo region of Guyana will now benefit from improved agricultural services aimed at boosting and expanding production in the hinterland.
According to the Ministry, the drone, valued at approximately $3 million, was procured through funding from the Government of Guyana (GoG) and the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) under the ministry’s Hinterland Environmentally Sustainable Agricultural Development (HESAD) project. The drone’s features, the ministry says, will help with soil mapping in areas such as moisture, pH, and nutrition distribution, crop health monitoring, pest and disease monitoring, farm mapping and GIS data collection, aerial surveys for cattle and other livestock, and environmental monitoring and land degradation surveys. According to the release, during a meeting at Yakarinta Village, farmers told Mustapha that they were interested in expanding their production. While noting that the government has already committed to supplying cassava sticks and other planting materials to expand production, many farmers require soil tests to determine what can be planted in the new lands they want to utilize. One farmer stated that while many farmers benefited from planting materials in the past, they did not request soil testing which resulted in low production levels.
Mustapha, according to the ministry’s release, said he is aware that many farmers in the hinterland region require a range of services. He explained that the government wants farmers to increase production and will continue to provide the necessary resources and services to facilitate expansion and diversification within the agriculture sector.
“We want you to expand production. I know cassava is a staple here. While we want you to expand production, we also want you to diversify. Yes, we are making the planting materials available. We are also making resources and services available to support your production. If you want to expand, you have to cultivate more land. So, today I am handing over a drone to the region that has the capacity to do soil testing and many other things. With the introduction of this piece of equipment, you will be able to know what can be cultivated or what is needed to make these new lands suitable for cultivation. We’ve been investing heavily in technology for the sector. We want to increase production while making the sector less labour intensive and more resilient,” the minister explained.
Mustapha, the release noted, also disclosed that cassava farmers from Massara and other villages would soon benefit from a $5 million grant to expand cassava production. Farmers will also benefit from fencing materials inclusive of approximately 60 rolls of barb wire and chain link mesh to assist with wildlife control on their farms. To assist with boosting poultry and livestock production, Mustapha announced that, through the Guyana Livestock Development Authority, farmers will also benefit from assistance to enhance their poultry programme. The statement said that farmers will also benefit from breeding animals for cattle, swine, and small ruminants as well as artificial insemination services. While in Kwatamang Village, Mustapha also disclosed that officers from the New Guyana Marketing Corporation will visit the area to conduct agro-processing training exercises with members of the Kwatamang Purple Sweet Potato Farmers Group in the coming week.
Mega farms
Mustapha also disclosed plans to develop mega-farms in the hinterland region. The release noted that Mustapha told farmers that plans are underway to commence agricultural surveys to identify lands for large-scale cultivation of a number of crops.
“Soon, we’ll conduct several surveys in different parts of the Rupununi to determine which areas we can develop into mega-farms. This is all part of our plans to diversify and expand production. This region has a lot of agricultural potential and we will work with you to ensure you have the resources to cultivate a variety of crops on a large scale. Guyana is leading in agriculture in the CARICOM Region. We want to make Guyana a food hub. To do so we have to ensure farmers from all regions are producing. We are constantly working to secure new and lucrative markets for your produce. With challenges posed by climate change, we are also working to make the sector more technologically advanced and less labor intensive,” Mustapha said.
