On Wednesday, the Government of Guyana facilitated a meeting between Private Sector bodies from Guyana and the State of Roraima in northern Brazil, in an effort to develop linkages to boost production in Region Nine.
During the meeting, which took place in Lethem and was also attended by government officials from the State of Roraima, Agriculture Minister Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha stated that Guyana needed to establish linkages within the agriculture sector to reduce the regional food import bill by 2030.
Minister Mustapha also said that region nine was an ideal area for expanding agricultural investments based on its geographical location, the availability of land suitable for mega farms and large-scale agro-processing facilities, and that the government is eyeing large-scale value-added production to satisfy regional and other global markets.
While highlighting the successes of the Tacama Gold corn and soya project, Minister Mustapha said that the government was looking to develop Public-Private-Partnerships and encouraged private sector representatives from both Guyana and the State of Roraima to adopt the model used by those investors to develop consortia.
Also present at the meeting were Minister of Public Service, Government Efficiency and Implementation, Hon. Zulfikar Ally, Foreign Secretary, Robert Persaud, President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Kathy Smith, Consulate General of Guyana to Brazil, Roger King, and several other government and Private Sector officials.
Source: Ministry of Agriculture-Guyana
