- says additional facilities also being installed at Sophia Packaging facility
During a meeting with members of the Executive Management Committee and Council of the
Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI), Agriculture Minister Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha
disclosed that work is currently ongoing to modernize several packaging and agro-processing facilities in
Guyana.
Minister Mustapha told the team, which was headed by GCCI’s recently elected President, Mrs. Kathy
Smith, that more emphasis is being placed on empowering farmers and agro-processors to produce
more processed and value-added commodities.
“We have a facility at Parika that we’re upgrading to be a multi-purpose agro-processing facility. A flour
mill to process cassava will be installed so that farmers can have a ready market for their produce. That
same facility will also feature equipment to process ginger and turmeric, and the plantain chip
production line will also be rehabilitated. In terms of post-harvest, 13 facilities were constructed since
2020 to facilitate post-harvest activities. We have facilities in places like St. Ignatius in the Deep South,
where women’s groups are utilizing those facilities to make things like peanut butter. We also have a
number of dehydrating facilities across the country that farmers use to make dried fruit snacks and so
on,” the Minister explained.
Minister Mustapha also said similar upgrades will be done at the packaging facility located in the
compound of the Sophia Exhibition site. These upgrades, he explained, will include additional storage
and other facilities, making it a hub for agro-processing in Georgetown.
“The packaging facility at the Sophia Exhibition site was also rehabilitated. We currently have four 40-
foot, full-capacity cold storage containers that are utilized by farmers and exporters. We’ll also be
adding an additional four or five units to increase our cold storage capabilities. We aim to modernize the
facility by installing modern automatic and semi-automatic systems. So, that facility will be a hub in
Georgetown with the capacity to process, package and so on,” he noted.
President of the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Kathy Smith, said that there was
room to collaborate with the ministry to develop a curriculum to guide farmers in terms of standards for
the export of fresh and agro-processed commodities.
“I think things like marketing, branding, and packaging are very important. We recently met with the
British High Commissioner to Guyana, and one of the things they were excited about was getting our
produce into that market. If we can see in that space, and I think this is a collaboration we can have,
how we can create a curriculum to work on standards to see how we can get our produce in small,
medium, or large scale into that market. We know there is a huge West Indian market in the US. We
need to see something like that in Europe. It would not only be standards for exportation, but also
within Guyana because we have a lot of stuff here but Guyanese sometimes, don’t want to buy them
because of their packaging,” she explained.
Minister Mustapha said that the Ministry, through its agencies, has been working with farmers to
promote quality standards for fresh and agro-processed commodities.
While speaking on the long-term interventions to facilitate sustainable support for farmers in the event
of a natural disaster, Minister Mustapha said work is ongoing to finalize the specifics of the insurance
product that was launched in 2024 by H.E. Dr. Irfaan Ali.
“We have an insurance product. Last year, President Ali launched the Regional Economic Agri-insurance
Programme (REAP). Lynch Caribbean Brokers, in partnership with GuyCarpentar and Raincoat, worked
together to develop the Caribbean insurance product that caters to crop farmers, livestock farmers, and
fisherfolk. They (Lynch Caribbean Brokers) are now doing the necessary studies and consultations to
determine the premium and other specifics of the loan,” he explained.
