Food drying is considered one of the oldest ways in which to preserve food, but it is not an area that is heavily invested in despite its contributions towards curbing food wastage and contributing towards increased food security in Guyana. Guyana, through the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), implemented food drying technology in the early 2000s. This, however, has been limited both in its scope, and the variety of goods selected for drying.
As a small developing state, it is important for Guyana to begin implementing and advancing socio-technical technologies such as food drying on a wider scale to ensure that food wastage is curbed. It will ensure that persons have more access to nutritional food throughout the year, particularly during times of food instability caused by price fluctuations and/or changing weather patterns. Since 2019, Guyana has been experiencing prolonged food shortages due to the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic which significantly slowed down trade (OECD, 2022), and changing weather patterns that have disrupted agricultural cycles and destroyed crops. These events contributed towards significant price hikes in goods and produce, resulting in a sharp uptick in the poverty rate which now stands at 48%. Guyana’s food wastage rate stands at 30%, while food insecurity rates stand at 58%. Given the reclassification of Guyana’s economy as high-income, there have been rising debt repayment rates and inflation levels that affect the majority of the population as income levels remain stagnant. These percentages are estimated to increase, demonstrating an urgent need for enhanced focus on efforts to manage food security for citizens.
Food drying can be a great way to provide alternative food options for the population given these challenges. Many of Guyana’s fruits and vegetables can be dried utilizing traditional techniques such as sun drying, but this has challenges when thinking of sustainable growth within the food drying industry due to challenges associated with natural drying methods such as pests and loss. The limited technology in Guyana has resulted in an overreliance on sun-drying methods, which impacts the capacity and growth of the market. Currently, there is little standardization when it comes to dried food products in Guyana, impacting their viability on the market and limiting consumer interest. Given that it is primarily done by small independent businesses, there are limited standards for nutritional retention and safety standards, limiting wider market growth. Given the lack of broader stakeholder investment, the industry has been kept at a minimal standard. There is a demonstrable need for increased technological production and processes for food drying in Guyana, diversification of the products, and implementation of food drying policies for standardization of the sector.
Guyana is in need of innovative processes and standardization related to food drying. Innovation policies need to be undertaken by agencies and organizations that can propel the necessary innovation processes.
Innovation intensity regarding food drying is currently small but has the potential to be ramped up. To increase and influence innovation intensity, one would need to implement direct objectives such as increasing consumer interest, food variability, and fostering enhanced systems of trade. In order to effectively promote food security through food drying the government needs to utilize policy instruments that would encourage further investment into it by the private sector. In providing tax exemptions, manufacturers and small suppliers will gain incentives to process and sell dried food locally and regionally. This would help to diversify the dried food industry because as it stands, locked-in technology is related to the sun-drying of fruits, which has led to the dominance of this method which results in information effects of certain fruits being sold more just because they are more visible. Diversification can aid in creating additional pathways to food security through the adoption of varying dried fruits and vegetables within Guyana.
Food drying technologies can further provide communities with access to vegetables and fruits during scarce seasons, thereby increasing household food security through alternative food sources. There needs to be more investment in food drying technologies that can aid in bolstering the sector and positioning dried fruits and vegetables as a viable and nutritional food source to meet growing needs across various sections of the population.
