Some 6,000 farmers to benefit from US$3M worth of inputs & technical assistance

Some 6,000 farmers from across the Coast are set to benefit from US $3 million worth of inputs and technical assistance as part of the government’s efforts to boost Guyana’s agriculture sector.

This will be made possible through the provision of specialized extension services, critical machinery, and planting materials that were procured through funding from the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) under the Ministry of Agriculture’s Agriculture Sector Development Unit’s (ASDU) Sustainable Agriculture Development Programme (SADP) project.

Component Two of the programme targets farmers from regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six, and Ten who will receive inputs such as land tilers, water pumps, drip systems, shadehouse materials, threshing machines, plucking machines, gestation crates, breeding animals (Cattle, swine, small ruminants, black giants), planting materials, etc. to improve their operations and increase productivity.

The programme will also see farmers benefiting from technical support in areas such as best practices for both plant and animal husbandry as well as technological integration in agriculture.

During a simple handing-over exercise at the ministry’s head office on Friday, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha said the inputs will assist with the government’s efforts to assist small and medium-scale farmers with advancing their agricultural practices. He also said that the government was also working to ensure farmers are exposed to improved technology given the impacts of climate change on the agriculture sector.

The minister said that the government will continue to support the nation’s farmers and also encouraged the use of inputs such as shade houses to complement climate-smart agricultural practices.

“Guyana is leading the charge for agriculture in CARICOM so our farmers will have to continue to put in that effort to produce. Budgetary allocations for the sector have increased which serves as a testament to the government’s unwavering support to you, the farmers as you continue in those efforts. We will continue to support you in every way possible.

“With the effects climate change is having on the sector, inputs like shade house materials, which will be handed over under this project, are critical for combating the harmful effects climate change has on farming,” the minister noted.

IDB Country Representative to Guyana, Ms. Solórzano Salazar said that the IDB was pleased to support the government in its efforts to boost the income of small and medium-scaled agricultural producers.

“The project will assist with providing you with support to improve your production. This project not only caters for the provision of machinery. The ministry has also catered for extension services so farmers will also benefit from technical assistance which is an ingredient to promote production and minimize poverty in the rural areas. As it relates to the adoption of new technologies, we are in an era where technology is around. This is why we need to add the available technology to our farming activities,” she noted. (Ministry of Agriculture press release)