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President Ali regional food initiative drive is on target
Dear Editor,
During his first term in office, Guyana’s 9th Executive President Dr. Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s initiative for the member-states of CARICOM known as “25 by 2025” is meant reduce the region’s more than $10 billion annual food import bill by 25 percent in 2025. President Ali’s underlying goal is to improve regional agriculture production, productivity and investment in infrastructure. Though viewed as an ambitious goal by many, it will no doubt increase food production and hence food security in the region, especially among the smaller countries.
Although originally slated for 2025, the goal has been transitioned with a renewed focus and interest to achieve food security and self-sufficiently by 2030.While much progress has been made, climate-related challenges and in some cases natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods and drought have necessitated the change in time. President Dr. Ali’s vision for reducing the region’s food import, centers on his serious commitment and dedication to transform Guyana with its huge land mass and oil resources into a global leader in food security and the breadbasket for the Caribbean.
His Excellency leadership is fully supported by a trustworthy and specialized team comprising the Minister of Agriculture Mr. Zulfikar Mustapha and technical experts in Guyana and several countries. The primary objective is for member-CARICOM States to embark on a comprehensive national agriculture development strategy that prioritizes high-value cash crops, mega-farms and climate smart technologies. To accelerate and quicken this plan, the Ali administration has significantly increased resources from an $18.4 billion allocation for agriculture in 2020 to a historic high of $104.6 billion in the 2026 budget to fund critical infrastructure including the building of farm roads to markets, agriculture- processing facilities, improved seeds and grains and the revitalization and modernization of the traditional sectors like rice and sugar.
Today, Guyana is not only building infrastructure to accommodate its agriculture expansion program, but is also growing more food and in 2025, the country has achieved 88 percent of its food production targets with non-traditional crop. It has successfully completed its first major commercial shipment of cassava chips and mango pulp to Antigua and corn, soya and poultry to Barbados. Guyana’s agro-processed items including jams, jellies and coconut milk have doubled in the last few years, and the country is on track to become the Caribbean’s Food Capital in just five years of President Dr. Ali’s tenure. Its exports have been largely driven by its massive investments in infrastructure, which has resulted in increased production in all sectors. Guyana is now considered the only nation in the region to be self-sufficient in all key categories.
While some of the smaller islands in the region including St. Kitts and Nevis, and St. Vincent and the Grenadines are struggling to reach their targets, due in part to unavailability of land, Guyana, has become one of the top performers, followed by Barbados, Belize, Jamaica and Suriname. However, by late 2024, the region has shown outstanding progress with a 25 percent increase in food production. Thanks to the extraordinary and superb leadership of His Excellency, Dr. Irfaan Ali, Guyana with one of the highest grow rates in the world hovering around 45 percent of GDP has emerged as the only self-sustainable food producer in the Caribbean despite regional and global supply chain disruptions. This has been a remarkable achievement.
Sincerely,
Dr. Asquith Rose
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