Over the last two years, the Guyana Marketing Corporation (GMC) said it has expended millions of dollars to harness the potential of the country’s agro-processing industry. Those efforts seem to be bearing fruit as the entity recently disclosed that several commodities valued at more than USD$14M were exported last year to the US, Canada, Trinidad and Tobago, Dominican Republic, and Antigua.
At the end of 2022, GMC noted that 1635 farmers, agro-processors, and exporters were trained by GMC which resulted in a wider variety of more than 2909 products that are now available at the Guyana Shop. This represents an increase of 18% compared to 2019.
It was further noted that agro-processors benefitted from free advertising via traditional and social media platforms including the Guyana Shop’s Facebook handle which is expanding rapidly.
Turning to accomplishments in 2021, GMC said Guyana’s fledgling agro-processing industry was propelled to improve value-added production with the allocation of resources for the construction and equipping of 11 agro-processing facilities in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 9 and 10.
These facilities were designed using improved technologies to increase post-harvest production and management effortlessly under international standards.
In fact, GMC said three facilities in Region 9 (Karaudarnau, Maruranau, and St. Ignatius) will be commissioned and fully operational in 2023 to produce cashew and peanut butter, farine, cassava bread, and other cassava-related products. Guyana Standard understands that these facilities will not only create employment for several hundred Guyanese, but more women and young people will be able to refine their entrepreneurial skills and enjoy the benefits of passive income by becoming more involved in agriculture through agro-processing.
