A $30 million turmeric facility will be constructed at Four Miles in Port Kaituma, while the Hosororo Ginger Factory will undergo expansion works to increase productivity.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha made these announcements as he outlined massive developmental plans for hinterland regions during the National Toshaos Council (NTC) Conference, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Wednesday.
“In two months, we will install 50 new cages in various communities in the interior locations in Regions Four, Seven and Nine. In two weeks, work will commence to install those cages. We already have the fingerlings,” the minister disclosed.
He added that scholarships will be provided to individuals to be trained at the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA).
Citrus cultivation will also be expanded in several areas, including Santa Rosa and Baramita in Region One.
In coffee production, the minister stated that his ministry has about 13,000 coffee plants at the nursery at Hosororo. Almost 6,000 plants have already been distributed to various communities.
He told the indigenous leaders that three specialists are working with the Guyana Livestock Development Authority (GLDA) to expand the apiculture industry to their area.
Hinterland villages will also continue to benefit from the distribution of cassava sticks, artificial insemination in cattle, planting materials, and breeding animals, among others interventions.
Minister Mustapha said the black belly sheep programme can also be replicated in the hinterland once requests are made.
Plans are in the pipeline to distribute black giant chickens to the hinterland communities that did not benefit from previous distributions.
Over the last four years, he outlined some of the investments that have been made to transform the communities’ agriculture industry, making them more resilient and food secure.
During this period, hinterland communities, including White Water, Orealla, and St Ignatius, benefited from the construction of agro-processing facilities worth over $317 million to increase the value of their produce and products.
The ministry, through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), spent over $350 million on planting materials and other interventions to increase output.
NAREI also purchased 20,000 pounds of spices from Region One.
In 2024, the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) invested $1.26 billion to improve access to critical areas such as farmlands.
Tractors equipped with harrows and ploughs, seed planters, and excavators were among the pieces of machinery provided to the communities, making agriculture less labour-intensive.
Excavators have been distributed to Regions Three, Seven, and Nine.
Going forward, the minister pledged to work with the communities to build more shade houses to increase crop production and find markets for their produce.
Free planting materials will be provided to the village leaders during this week at the NTC Conference. (Department of Public Information)
