A 10-member committee was established to work along with the Ministries of Agriculture and Finance as well as regional authorities to decide on which crops can be cultivated on some 35,000 acres of land in Region Six.
This decision was announced today during a meeting Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo had with farmers. The aim of the meeting was to examine how the government can assist with the venture which is expected to create employment for approximately 3,000 persons in the region.
This move is in keeping with a commitment made by the Vice President about a month ago when he spearheaded an outreach in the region.
One of the crops being considered for cultivation is hemp, which VP Jagdeo said can be beneficial to the small farmers.
Only recently, the Hemp Cultivation legislation was tabled in the National Assembly. Government has already made known its plan to venture into value-added hemp production, which is a multi-billion dollar industry that would create thousands of jobs.
Aquaculture and other small crops are also being considered to be cultivated on these lands.
This initiative forms part of the government’s co-investment initiative which will see partnerships with the private sector to create employment opportunities.
The Vice President disclosed another plan to utilise GuySuCo lands for the production of sugar on a smaller scale.
He also said some of the leases which state that only sugar cane be cultivated on the lands, will have to be revised to reflect the objective of the venture. The finance minister, the VP noted, will look into this.
The National Drainage and Irrigation Authority (NDIA) will also be looking into the drainage system to ensure maximum production, as the intention is to export the produce on a large scale.
The VP was accompanied by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha and other government officials.
