-over 200 persons to benefit
Over 200 farmers and agro-processors including women and youths will now have the opportunity to increase the value, and extend the shelf life of their agricultural produce, following the commissioning of a $14.3 million state-of-the-art dehydrating facility at Plantation Hope Estate, East Coast Demerara.
The facility was commissioned on Thursday by the Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and the General Manager of the New Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC), Teshawna Lall.
The food drying plant production capacity is projected at 80 kilogrammes per hour or 192,000 kilogrammes per month of dehydrated fruits, vegetables, nuts, ground provisions and other commodities.
It is equipped with the latest dehydrating techniques, including two electrical dehydrators outfitted with 80 trays each for the produce to be processed properly.
To date, about 26 farmers and agro-processors have already signalled their interest to utilising the facility, which will source produce from communities including Hope, Unity and Clonbrook.
Minister Mustapha said the achievement demonstrates the government’s continued commitment to improving the nation’s agro-processing capabilities.
“Projects like these are geared to enhance farmer’s income. We want to ensure that this facility serves the farmers. We are building these facilities to add value to your products so that it can have longer shelf life,” Minister Mustapha added.
Guyana is currently producing 60 per cent of the food that is being consumed.
As such, the agriculture minister stated that the ministry is ready to work with farmers in the community to boost their agricultural production.
“We want to make this area productive once again. We want you to go into various crops. We have a lot of farmers here that we can work with. We can help you to decide the type of crops that you can plant so that we can process it…We recognise that for us to be successful as a country, we have to produce all the food that we are consuming,” the minister said.
Guyana is expected to have almost 15 agro-processing facilities by the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, GMC’s General Manager Lall explained that the facility is a response to the rising global demand for dehydrated fruits.
Lall explained that this is evidenced by substantial import values in markets like Trinidad and Tobago, Chile, and Brazil.
“The Hope dehydration facility positions Guyana to meet this demand by producing high-quality dehydrated fruits right here at home. As dehydration technologies continue to gain traction as a viable post-harvest solution in Guyana, this facility will play a pivotal role in the comprehensive development of agriculture not only in Region Four but across the nation,” she explained.
