Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha yesterday announced that government will be moving to set up a branch of the Guyana School of Agriculture (GSA) in Region Six.
Mustapha yesterday told Stabroek News that after taking a look at the tertiary education offered in Berbice, he noticed that “GSA was left out.” As a result, he said once the new GSA board is formed, he will tasked it with establishing a branch of the GSA in the region, “so that we can have Berbicians getting the same facilities that is in Georgetown and Essequibo”.
He added that a branch of GSA in Berbice would be extremely beneficial to residents in both Region Five and Region Six in preparing them better for agricultural opportunities. “Because in Berbice a lot of people now are going into agriculture and as I said that agriculture must not be seen as an activity you go and do it part time and we must stop the perception that people who drop out of schools [do agriculture]… we must do agriculture in the most scientific way and we must prepare our people to do agriculture if we want proper production and productivity,” he explained.
Meanwhile, in terms of a possible location, Mustapha said he was considering the John’s Campus at Tain. “They have a Faculty of Agriculture there and I am looking to incorporate that, seeing if they have space there,” he added.
The minister also pointed out that he is planning to “reactivate” the GSA branch in Essequibo, since it does not seem to have been as active as it should be.
