The Honourable Zulfikar Mustapha, M.P.
Minister of Agriculture
of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana
Honourable Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha started his professional career in agriculture working to represent farmers in the Guyana Agricultural and General Workers Union (1989 to 2002). He then served as a Regional Chairman and later a Member of Parliament for a number of years up until 2020.
In 2020, he was officially appointed as the Minister of Agriculture of the Co-operative Republic of Guyana. Since the beginning of his role as the Minister, he has taken several steps to strengthen the resilience and sustainability of the agri-food systems of Guyana. His efforts have mainly been invested in strengthening agricultural institutions, improving infrastructure, providing adequate incentives and assistance to agribusiness stakeholders. A major area of focus has been strengthening the drainage and irrigation capacity for more efficient and effective flood control and access and ease of transportation through farm to markets access roads.
Minister Mustapha actively participates in high-level dialogues/meetings/workshops to develop solutions and strategize on all areas of the sector, specifically, de-risking the agriculture sector, access to markets, and improving the disaster response capacity, not only in Guyana but regionally and internationally. He believes that we must transform our food systems to cope with the changing environment and at the same time make an impact on the high food import bill of the CARICOM region. Hence, he holds the position as the Chair for the Special Ministerial Task Force for Food Production and Food Security in CARICOM.
His dedication to the nation’s and regional farmers is a clear indication that he is very capable of positively transforming the sector. His dedication to the job sees him spending most of his days visiting and interacting with farmers across the country. Minister Mustapha is equipped with the education, expertise, and experience to significantly impact the agriculture sector in Guyana and the Caribbean.
