Gov’t to possibly double productivity in sugar industry & export food directly from Reg. 1

The government believes it can double the productivity in the sugar industry and other agricultural sectors by using new plant varieties it gets through new foreign partnerships.

Simultaneously, Vice President Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said the government will be investing in new facilities in Guyana’s northernmost administrative region, Region One (Barima- Waini), so that crops produced there can be directly exported to the Caribbean

This Vice President highlighted these plans during a press conference hosted at the Office of the President on Thursday.

He reminded reporters that the government has been engaging several bilateral partners on pushing food security efforts locally.

“We’ve resumed all the discussions with India on developing all the spices, greater production in the rice sector and (sugarcane), maybe even doubling output in these sectors by just changing the variety,” the Vice President said.

Improving the sugar industry has been a keen focus of the government.

Last week, President Dr. Irfaan Ali said the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo) should produce about 60,000 tonnes of sugar by the end of this year. And by next year, he said the corporation should ramp up sugar production.

India, the Dominican Republic and Guadeloupe are among those countries interested in helping Guyana improve the sugar industry.

Jagdeo, however, noted that emphasis is also being placed on pushing food production in Region One since produce from that region can be exported directly to the Caribbean.

Already, he said there have been discussions about upping plantain production in Port Kaituma.

“…we are looking to establish a major nursery there.

“The Ministry of Agriculture will go there to upgrade certification so that our products can sail directly into the Caribbean without coming to the coast,” he noted.

It is believed that investments in Region One will also extend to Matthew’s Ridge and Mabaruma.

The Vice President’s comments on the plans for Region One follow statements made by President Ali in April.

The Head of State had said that the new MV Ma Lisha, a modern ship built in collaboration with India, would allow producers in the region to export crab meat, ground provisions and other produce directly to Trinidad and Tobago (T&T) and the wider Caribbean.