Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy yesterday witnessed the loading of harvested rice from the Santa Fe Mega Farm in the Rupununi which was then transported to Brazil.
A release from the Ministry of Agriculture today said that the cargo rice was first processed at the Santa Fe mill which was constructed by the investors.
The release added that this is the third time the Simpson family of Barbados is successfully harvesting rice which is being used to supply the local Region 9 market as well as Brazil. For 2014, more than 8000 tonnes of cargo rice was exported to Brazil, the release stated.
The release said that Santa Fe Inc. investor Sir Kyffin Simpson is adamant that the investment at Santa Fe since its inception continues to be a favourable one for the company and committed to ensuring additional growth in the Hinterland Region.
The release said that the project has modelled its cultivation on techniques used in Brazil as well as that in Guyana and utilizes a Brazilian expert to guide the process.
Since the start of its operations here in 2013, Santa Fe has not responded to requests from Stabroek News for interviews. Information on the investment has come only from the Government Information Agency and the Ministry of Agriculture.
Today’s release said that the project is being managed and supervised by Guyanese Richard Vasconcellos. Of the 60 employees, 57 are Guyanese from Region 9.
