Agriculture Minister Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha met with farmers and residents of Laluni and surrounding communities along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway on Saturday to discuss the issues affecting agricultural development and the support needed to increase production.
During the engagement, residents raised several concerns relating to land, drainage and irrigation, access to planting materials and support for expanding production. Minister Mustapha described Laluni as an important agricultural community and said the Ministry will work with farmers to increase production and create new opportunities.
“Laluni is a very important link in the agriculture sector. We can work together to make this area more productive and harness its full potential. We have to work along with our farmers to address the challenges and create the conditions necessary for them to expand production,” Minister Mustapha said.
Land allocation emerged as a major issue during the meeting, with several residents seeking the Minister’s intervention. Minister Mustapha explained that the allocation of state lands must be undertaken by legally authorised agencies and cautioned the Community Development Council (CDC) against distributing lands if it is currently engaged in such activities. He also committed to facilitating an outreach with the relevant authority to address outstanding applications and other land-related concerns.
“Land issues seem to be a major concern in this area. If the CDC is involved in distributing lands, it must desist from doing so because only authorised agencies have the legal authority to allocate lands. In West Berbice, we have the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary – Agricultural Development Authority (MMA-ADA). We also have the National Industrial and Commercial Investments Limited (NICIL). In most cases, that authority rests with the Guyana Lands and Surveys Commission (GLSC). We will organise an outreach with the relevant authority to examine the applications from this area so that we can work towards resolving these issues,” he explained.
Minister Mustapha also instructed the National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) to conduct assessments in Laluni and First Creek to determine the drainage and irrigation works required to support agricultural activities. He said similar attention will be given to ensuring farmers have access to quality planting materials, noting that the Ministry continues to build its capacity to satisfy the growing demand.
“We have our NDIA engineer here, and assessments will be done in First Creek and Laluni so that we can determine and execute the necessary drainage and irrigation works. We also recognise the growing demand for quality planting materials. We have eleven plant nurseries around the country. The closest facility is at Timehri, and we are building our capacity to provide farmers with the materials they need. We will be upgrading that facility. Besides that, we have a plant tissue lab. They have already started to produce the necessary planting materials, so in a year or less, those should be available. Where plantlets are not available, we will work to provide seeds,” the Minister said.
As the Government continues to promote diversification, Minister Mustapha encouraged farmers to focus on crops that can be produced commercially and for which sustainable markets can be secured as Guyana’s produce continues to be in high demand across the region. He also identified swine rearing and apiculture as areas with significant potential for expansion in Laluni.
“I want you to work together and identify two or three crops that can be produced on a large scale so that markets will not be an issue. There is also potential for swine production. We have a private firm that will develop a processing plant right here in Laluni to process pork. That will create a lot of jobs in the community and give you the opportunity to get involved in swine production. Honey production is another area with tremendous potential here. We can provide training and beehives to help farmers develop production on a larger scale,” he noted.
Minister Mustapha further said that maintaining production remains critical, particularly as farmers contend with the effects of El Niño. He noted that the Ministry’s agencies have been given specific instructions to work closely with farmers and provide the necessary support to safeguard and increase production.
“Although we are experiencing El Niño, we must not allow production to decrease. Our agencies have been given special instructions to work closely with farmers. We have to continue expanding and diversifying agricultural production, and we will continue putting the infrastructure and support systems in place to make that possible,” Minister Mustapha said.
