His Excellency President Dr Irfaan Ali said that his Government plans to directly transfer assets to farmers to expand their production base, increase their livelihoods and better position them to increase their earning capacity.
The Head of State addressed hundreds of rice, cash crop and livestock farmers along with fisherfolk during a regional outreach at Onverwagt, West Berbice, on Friday.
He announced that his Government is working on a plan to cooperate with livestock farmers including those rearing sheep, pigs, chicken and producing hatching eggs to provide them with additional high-yielding assets to increase their base production.
“We want to be able to have a livestock industry that is fully diversified, and we want Region Five to be the capital of our livestock industry.”
This will be complemented with investments in feed mills, new areas for pastures and the production of feed.
For cash crop farmers, the President pointed out that his Government would create areas where sustainable and climate resilient agriculture including shade houses and hydroponics can be developed. Farmers would be able to benefit from this, while maintaining their own farms.
Specifically for coconut farmers, the President announced that his Government will set aside resources to procure and distribute one million high-yielding coconut seedlings so that farmers can start their replacement of old plants. This will also be complemented by the construction of an integrated processing and packaging facility for coconut water in the region.
The President also spoke about integrated farming systems and said that other ideas of cooperation would be discussed further with residents, the Ministry of Agriculture and other stakeholders.
“You can trust this Government to invest in those things to make agriculture viable in this region and every other region across the country.”
The President also noted that his Government will set aside at least $5bn in the next budget to build or repair farm-to-market access roads across the country.