On Saturday, Agriculture Minister, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha, launched the Melanie Shadehouse and Women Empowerment Projects in Melanie, East Coast Demerara, marking another key step in the government’s efforts to empower vulnerable groups and strengthen community-based agriculture across the country.
During the engagement, Minister Mustapha explained that the initiative forms part of a wider national programme aimed at creating opportunities for women and other vulnerable groups through targeted agricultural interventions.
He noted that the project will see the establishment of a modern shadehouse, where high-value crops that are in high demand will be cultivated with technical guidance and ongoing support from officers of the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute.
“We are launching two programmes in that area. One is the Shadehouse Project, and the other is the Women’s Empowerment Programme. I’ve asked our officers from NAREI to coordinate the programme with the local representatives. We will establish a modern state-of-the-art shadehouse close to the health center. The people who will be operating the shadehouse want to get involved in the cultivation of high-value crops. Young people in the community will also be involved in those activities. It will cost approximately $10 million to get all the infrastructure in place,” he explained.
He also said that women in the community will be assisted with establishing kitchen gardens.
“I will be providing seeds and other inputs and technical assistance to the women in this community so that they can enhance their kitchen gardens. This is an important programme because people usually approach me for assistance, as many have available space in their yards and would like to become involved in small-scale agriculture. While we are promoting large-scale agriculture, we cannot abandon the establishment and development of kitchen gardens. We will work with every class and category of farmer, whether you have a mega farm or a kitchen garden,” Minister Mustapha explained.
Minister Mustapha also noted that NAREI will work with the group to facilitate training in shadehouse management and proper crop husbandry. He said that routine visits will be scheduled to ensure the shadehouse is maintained and cultivated at maximum capacity.
The minister also said that the ministry will explore extending the tunnel house poultry project to groups comprising youths from the area and that a number of additional initiatives to boost agricultural production will be rolled out in the community in the coming months.
While noting that the Melanie initiative is only the start of a broader programme of support and economic transformation, Minister Mustapha said the government’s long-term vision is to position Guyana as a leading food producer within the region and beyond.
“We want to be the main food producer in this part of the hemisphere. That is why we are empowering groups to produce, while the government provides the inputs and the technical support,” Minister Mustapha stated.
