Dear Editor,
During his first term in office, Guyana’s ninth Executive President, Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali’s initiative for the member states of Caricom, known as “25 by 2025”, is meant to reduce the region’s more than $10 billion annual food import bill by 25 per cent in 2025. President Ali’s underlying goal is to improve regional agricultural production, productivity, and investment in infrastructure.
Though viewed as an ambitious goal by many, it will no doubt increase food production and, hence, food security in the region, especially among the smaller countries. Although originally slated for 2025, the goal has been transitioned with a renewed focus and interest to achieve food security and self-sufficiency by 2030.
While much progress has been made, climate-related challenges and, in some cases, natural disasters such as hurricanes, floods, and droughts have necessitated the change in timing. President Dr Ali›s vision for reducing the region›s food imports centres on his serious commitment and dedication to transforming Guyana, with its huge landmass and oil resources, into a global leader in food security and the breadbasket for the Caribbean.
His Excellency’s leadership is fully supported by a trustworthy and specialised team comprising the Minister of agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, and technical experts in Guyana and several countries. The primary objective is for member-Caricom states to embark on a comprehensive national agricultural development strategy that prioritises high-value cash crops, mega-farms, and climate-smart technologies.
To accelerate and quicken this plan, the Ali Administration has significantly increased resources from an $18.4 billion allocation for agriculture in 2020 to a historic high of $104.6 billion in the 2026 budget to fund critical infrastructure, including the building of farm roads to markets, agriculture processing facilities, improved seeds and grains, and the revitalisation and modernisation of traditional sectors like rice and sugar.
Today, Guyana is not only building infrastructure to accommodate its agricultural expansion programme but is also growing more food. By 2025, the country has achieved 88 per cent of its food production targets with non-traditional crops. It has successfully completed its first major commercial shipment of cassava chips and mango pulp to Antigua and corn, soya, and poultry to Barbados.
Guyana’s agro-processed items, including jams, jellies, and coconut milk, have doubled in the last few years, and the country is on track to become the Caribbean’s Food Capital in just five years of President Dr Ali’s tenure. Its exports have been largely driven by its massive investments in infrastructure, resulting in increased production in all sectors. Guyana is now considered the only nation in the region to be self-sufficient in all key categories.
While some of the smaller islands in the region, including St Kitts and Nevis and St Vincent and the Grenadines, are struggling to reach their targets, due in part to unavailability of land, Guyana has become one of the top performers, followed by Barbados, Belize, Jamaica, and Suriname. However, by late 2024, the region has shown outstanding progress with a 25 per cent increase in food production.
Thanks to the extraordinary and superb leadership of President Dr Irfaan Ali, Guyana, with one of the highest growth rates in the world hovering around 45 per cent of GDP, has emerged as the only self-sustainable food producer in the Caribbean despite regional and global supply chain disruptions. This has been a remarkable achievement.