Often referred to as the “breadbasket of the Caribbean,” Guyana has a robust and diverse agriculture industry that encompasses a broad range of activities, from rice farming to aquaculture. In addition to making significant contributions to Guyana’s domestic food security and nutrition, the agriculture industry is vitally important to the country’s economic development. Today, it accounts for about one-third of Guyana’s GDP and 30 percent of its employment.

Given the major role that agriculture plays in Guyana, it’s hardly surprising that the country dedicates an entire month every year to the celebration of all things agriculture.

Held in October, Guyana’s annual Agriculture Month is an opportunity for people to learn more about the current state of agriculture in the country, celebrate recent achievements and successes, and get a sneak peek at the future of the industry.

The theme of Agriculture Month in 2019 was “Sustainable Agriculture for Ensuring Food Safety and a Green Economy.” Read on to learn more about some of the many events that were held over the past few weeks as part of Guyana’s annual agricultural celebrations.

The Launch of the Climate-Smart Agriculture Project

Experts agree that global agriculture is one of the industries that will be most strongly impacted by climate change. As a result, countries around the world are working to develop resilient agricultural policies and systems that can respond to these changing conditions, and Guyana is no exception.

As part of Agriculture Month 2019, Guyana launched its Climate-Smart Agriculture Project (CSAP), a joint initiative involving the National Agriculture Research and Education Institute, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture, and several other partners. The goal of CSAP is to support farmers and community groups to establish new or scale up shade houses, a type of growing structure that uses agro-nets or other woven material to help protect crops from excess heat and sun, unpredictable weather conditions, and attacks from pests or predators.

Agri-cursion Field School

Held for the first time ever in 2019, Agri-cursion Field School helped to introduce seniors and people with disabilities to small-scale agriculture and farming techniques.

While large-scale farms and facilities comprise much of Guyana’s agricultural sector, individuals and households can still make a valuable contribution to agriculture and food security in the country by maintaining kitchen gardens and growing produce for personal consumption at home.

Recognizing that some groups need extra support in learning how to establish and maintain such gardens, the Ministry of Agriculture created Agri-cursion Field School, a workshop series held at the Guyana School of Agriculture that taught local seniors and people with disabilities key farming techniques such as container gardening, drip irrigation, and composting. Field School participants also received free seedlings to help them start their own mini-farms.

Farmers Market 2019

Organized by the Guyana Market Corporation and held at D’Urban Park in Georgetown, the 2019 Farmers Market featured an impressive array of small farmers and growers from across the country, providing Guyana’s small-scale local agricultural businesses with much-needed exposure. Fresh, organic fruits and vegetables featured prominently at this year’s event, and vendors reported brisk sales, with many completely selling out of their products long before the end of the day.

Food Safety Authority Activities

An important current focus area for Guyana’s Ministry of Agriculture concerns the regulation of the food ecosystem. To help improve food safety throughout the country, Guyana is taking advantage of recent legislation to establish the Food Safety Authority (FSA). With the overall goal of preventing food-borne illnesses in Guyana, the FSA will be responsible for the oversight, control, and coordination of food production, preparation, handling, storage, and transportation.

Some of the specific measures that will advance the FSA’s mission include the recent commission of a new Pesticides Laboratory, which will examine pesticide residues in agricultural products, and a Water Quality Laboratory, which will evaluate water quality through a comprehensive sample testing process, establishing a database for national water quality.

Sugar Estate Tour

Because sugarcane is one of Guyana’s most important crops, it’s essential that people working in the departments and agencies of the Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) have a detailed understanding of exactly what’s involved in sugarcane cultivation and sugar production. This was the motivation behind the tour of the Uitvlugt Sugar Estate, organized for MoA workers as part of Agriculture Month 2019.

Guided by estate agronomist Andre Moore and farm manager Andrew McLeod, the tour gave attendees new insight into the development and production of sugarcane. Highlights of the event included a visit to the estate’s nursery and a look at several new sugarcane varieties; a field tour to see the different stages of cane growth; and an introduction to both manual and semi-mechanical harvesting processes.

As Guyana’s first indigenous bank, GBTI is proud to be the largest lender serving the country’s agricultural industry. To learn more about GBTI’s agricultural loan program, which supports all types of agricultural businesses, visit gbtibank.com.