Setting the record straight on the work being done by the Agriculture Minister

Feb 10, 2021 Letters

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DEAR EDITOR,

Kaieteur News – Permit me a few lines to respond to a letter to the editor titled ‘Ad hoc activities in Agriculture can’t quite cut it’ that was published in the Monday, February 8, 2021 edition of your newspaper. I’ve noticed that this was the second letter written by the writer, Mr. Haresh Singh Kumar, criticizing the Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha and the sector’s performance within the last 10 days. After reading both letters, I would like to take this opportunity to highlight some of the progress made thus far in the sector.
Since the Honourable Minister took office in August 2020, the renewed interest seen in the sector has been quite evident. This is due to the Minister’s timely response to dealing with the issues our farmers have been facing for several years. Even these acts have been criticized, but were these interventions not warranted? Was the Minister expected to jump in and impose policies without first dealing with the needs of the farmers? You cannot build a sector without a solid foundation. The fact of the matter remains that our farmers needed urgent help. If you speak with farmers from any of the communities that the Minister visited since taking office, you will see the impact that these interventions have had on their daily operations.
The writer’s first letter stated that “there are a lot of Public Relations stunts but no real private investment in agriculture or any sector of the economy.” Editor, before any deals are signed for investments to be made in the agriculture sector, due diligence has to be done. As Minister of Agriculture, Minister Mustapha’s main objective when it comes to investments in the sector is to ensure Guyanese benefit. So forgive the Honourable Minister if deals are not being signed fast enough for the writer, but all investment deals presented to any Minister of Government have to be in accordance with the Government’s ‘Promise for Prosperity.’ It is not the Government’s intention for Guyana to be known in the near and distant future as ‘a country so desperate for investment that it entered into several bad investment deals.’ The Guyana Office for Investment and the American Chamber of Commerce were also engaged to assist with the investment process for the sector.
Furthermore, many international investors have signalled their interests in the sector. During a recent visit by an investment team from Dubai, one of the wealthiest cities in the world, a wide range of opportunities, particularly those in the agricultural sector, were discussed. Minister Mustapha made several presentations on rice, sugar, dairy, and livestock and the two nations are now in talks to move forward with a number of projects in this regard.
The writer seems to be oblivious to many things happening in the sector. Minister Mustapha has been speaking about government’s plans for the rice, sugar, cash and non-traditional crops, and livestock sector.
Since taking office, Minister Mustapha has signalled his intention to double rice production by 2025. Last October, the Guyana Rice Development Board released the GRDB16. This new variety, with good management practices, can produce 55 to 60 bags of paddy per hectare, which is 20 bags more than other popular varieties. Only last week, Minister Mustapha conducted a field visit to the Burma Rice Research Station, where the GRDB in collaboration with the Inter American Institute for Corporation on Agriculture (IICA), has a demonstration plot under cultivation for bio-fortified rice, rich in Zinc and other essential vitamins and minerals. The Minister is also working aggressively on a comprehensive plan to develop the second phase of the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority (MMA-ADA) Scheme. Plans are also being crafted to develop the Aurora Land Development Project and other prime agricultural lands in Regions Three and Six. Once these lands come under cultivation, rice production and agriculture production, in general, will increase tremendously. Livestock farmers will also benefit from the development of these lands through the establishment of pastures and regulated zoning for the cultivation of rice and cattle rearing.
There has also been a push for the development of high-earning non-traditional crops. Budget 2020 had several incentives for the cultivation of corn and soya bean. NAREI has also intensified its efforts to promote the cultivation of a number of high income earning non-traditional crops, like broccoli and cauliflower. The agency has conducted several sensitization programmes to help farmers prepare or transition their land for the cultivation of these super foods.
With the challenges faced in the aquaculture sector, His Excellency, President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali, recently announced that government will soon launch an aquaculture master plan. Heads of Missions from countries with thriving aquaculture industries have been engaged and specialists from these countries have been invited to work with Government to develop a plan best suited for Guyana.
As it relates to the sugar industry, since taking office, government has been working to ensure positive changes are made within the sector. After taking office, government immediately put systems in place to get things up and running at GuySuCo. An initial investment of $3B was made by government to reopen the Rose Hall, Skeldon, and Enmore estates. An additional $4B was later injected into the sector to recapitalize the estates at Blairmont, Albion, and Uitvlugt. Operational assessments were carried out at each of the estates and it was determined that the estates that were still allowed to operate, were operating at 60 percent capacity. Government made it clear that the first step for GuySuCo was to get it to a place where it can break even in terms of its production. A comprehensive plan for GuySuCo has since been developed and is currently at the level of Cabinet for review.
It would be remiss of me to omit the fact that GuySuCo has also rehired hundreds of workers, most of whom were callously placed on the breadline when the estates were closed by the previous administration.
Shortly after taking office, Minister Mustapha immediately sought Cabinet’s approval for $29M to commence rehabilitation works to several access dams in Regions Two, Three, Five, and Six. These works were considered urgent as some 91,580 acres of rice fields were under threat due to inaccessible dams. Farmers would’ve suffered millions in losses if the Minister did not put systems in place to carry out these works immediately.
He then made recommendations and Cabinet again approved the release of an additional $98 million to conduct urgent repairs on critical infrastructure in the Mahaica-Mahaicony-Abary Agriculture Development Authority, which is the largest agriculture scheme in the country. This injection saw the clearing of over 252 drains and benefited approximately 96,000 acres of rice land in the area and over 2,300 farmers, families within the Abary-Berbice and the Mahaica-Mahaicony block.
Editor, 12 of the 32 manifesto promises for the agriculture sector has already been achieved. The rates for land rentals and drainage and irrigation charges have been reversed to what they were in 2014 and agriculture machinery and inputs no longer attract value added tax. The Minister has also resumed the seed and acoushi ants bait distribution project.
In his first letter, the writer said “other than clearing some drains and quickly tending to flooding in several areas, nothing much has been happening in agriculture.” What the writer should be made aware of is the fact that the government had made it clear that the 2020 budget was an emergency budget. In the agriculture sector, budget 2020 was designed to provide funds to carry out emergency works and prepare the sector for the transformative projects that will materialize once Budget 2021 is passed and over the next five years.

Below is a list of 10 other meaningful interventions:
1. An initial sum of GY$2.6M was spent to assist Essequibo Rice farmers with paddy bug infestation,
2. Paddy Bug Action Units were established in five Regions,
3. Panama was finally engaged with regards to the outstanding $1.9B owed to Guyana for shipments of rice,
4. Noting the effects climate change is having on cultivation, a ‘Smart Agriculture Initiative’ was launched so that farmers can procure shade-house materials at a cost price from NAREI,
5. A Vaisala Automatic Weather Station was installed at Saxacalli,
6. Assistance was given to several farmers’ groups like the Woodley Park Women’s Cash Crop Farmers’ Group, to help them with expanding their cultivation,
7. A $63M Fertilizer testing Lab commissioned,
8. Two new coconut nurseries were established to decentralize access to quality planting materials.
9. Assistance in the form of fertilisers, chemicals, and other planting materials were given to flood affected farmers in the Pomeroon, and;
10. Three contracts totalling $174M were signed for the construction of a water conservancy in West Watooka, Region 10.

I encourage the writer to exercise patience and await the passage of Budget 2021. The proposed budget for the Ministry of Agriculture was developed to kick start the sector. Several transformative projects and developmental investments have been included and Guyanese can rest assured that Guyana’s agriculture sector will thrive.
In conclusion, I wish to extend an invitation to the writer to meet with the Honourable Minister if this letter lacks clarity in any way. He can also use the opportunity to present some facts on the claims made about ‘demanding “taxes” on contractors’ as I am unaware of this and cannot make a pronouncement at this time because no names or concrete information was given.

Yours sincerely,
Janell Cameron
Public Relations Officer
Ministry of Agriculture

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