The proposed Barbados-Guyana Food Terminal which is currently awaiting approval from the Town and Country Planning of Barbados, will see developmental works this year according to Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha.
He gave this response to a question posed by Stabroek News concerning an update on the status of the food terminal at a year-end press conference held at the Ministry of Agriculture’s Regent Street Office, Georgetown.
“Our representative from NDIA who is an engineer by profession is working with our counterparts in Barbados to get this started up, the designs are finished and the company that will be carrying out these works is based in Trinidad and Tobago,” the minister said.
He said that the name of the contracted company is Novo Farms Limited and that the facility will be constructed at Lears, St Michael, Barbados.
Mustapha expressed optimism that the food terminal will come to fruition.
The proposed food terminal aims to enhance food security and promote sustainable agriculture practices, while also boosting economic growth in the region. When it comes on stream, the project should provide a boost to both the Barbadian and Guyanese economies, while also contributing to regional food security efforts. The Caribbean region has set a target to slash 25% of its imported food supplies by 2025.
Providing an update on the construction of the Regional Food Hub which is being built along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway, Mustapha said that this facility will enable Guyana to achieve its goal of becoming the lead exporter of agricultural produce.
He is adamant that the initiative will further position the country to lead this sector in the Caribbean.
“We want to be the lead exporter in CARICOM. Works on the food hub will continue in 2024 aiding in the food supply chain and production processes such as cold storage and manufacturing processing capability to improve market access,” Mustapha explained.
The hub will be built at a cost of US$14 million.
Just recently the country recorded $1.8 billion in exportation of non-traditional commodities including fruits, vegetables, and grain crops without the help of a food hub.
As such, with this facility coming on board, export revenue is expected to double for the country.
Stabroek News on October 6, 2023, reported on President Irfaan Ali’s announcement that Guyana plans to work with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) to develop a technology-driven regional food hub.
To ensure this happens quickly, the President said, “We are going to be working with IICA on the establishment of a regional food hub, with the right technology, applying the right phytosanitary standards, so that the products that come through the regional food hub will have all the standards for all the countries.”
The Head-of-State added that proper farming practices and soil management are key to maintaining the optimal nutritional values of food, which can lead to long-term sustainability in the region.
“In the region, we are proposing to establish a state-of-the-art innovation centre, agri-investment and innovation centre, that will bring the best of technology, the best of knowledge, the best of leadership, and, importantly, to build this digitization around this innovation centre.”
The centre, he explained, can be used to involve every segment of the region’s population in the food production chain and will also allow for applicable technology to drive innovation and business models.
He also had talks with IICA directors on converting the Guyana School of Agriculture into a regional institution with the IICA brand.
President Ali also stressed the need for the region to involve more women and youth in agriculture. He explained that Guyana has set itself a target of having 35% of all new agricultural production projects owned by women and youth.
