Guyanese companies continue to demonstrate their creativity and knack for innovation, with IntellectStorm, a leading Information Technology solutions and marketing company, being recognized for its role in developing a transformative Agriculture Information System (AIS) for the Ministry of Agriculture. Launched recently, this state-of-the-art system aims to revolutionize how agricultural data is collected, analyzed, and shared across Guyana.
Funded by the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the AIS includes a key feature—a comprehensive farmers’ register. This register will compile essential details such as contact information, geolocation, acreage, tenure type, purpose, and other relevant data, providing a detailed overview of Guyana’s agricultural landscape.
The IDB praised the development of the AIS, highlighting its potential to propel Guyana’s agricultural sector toward modernization and sustainable growth. Anton Edmunds, General Manager of the Country Department of the Caribbean at the IDB, noted, “This integrated agriculture information system enhances transparency and consistency in data management, using technology to create a dashboard for data analysis and rehabilitating information hubs in several regions in Guyana. It also brings numerous opportunities for investment and will improve outcomes for a variety of actors within this space.”
IntellectStorm’s expertise, honed over more than 20 years in IT, marketing, and customer service, played a crucial role in creating the AIS platform. Their global experience enables them to apply proven solutions from various parts of the world and adapt them to meet the specific needs of the local market.
In addition to the farmers’ register, the AIS serves as a centralized hub, delivering real-time agricultural data to extension officers. This capability is expected to enhance responsiveness to developments in the sector, enabling more informed decision-making and driving growth and sustainability in Guyana’s agriculture industry.
Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, highlighted the AIS as a vital component of the ministry’s Sustainable Agricultural Development Programme (SADP). He explained that the system would streamline internal processes, boost agricultural production, and improve the ministry’s planning capabilities.
Speaking at the launch event, Minister Mustapha stated, “This system will guide you to be more efficient…It will help us to identify those individuals within various sectors, ensuring that the needs of the farmers are met and enhancing our decision-making capabilities.”
The AIS’s advanced data analytics and real-time capabilities also allow the ministry to receive daily reports from extension officers across the nation, further strengthening its capacity to monitor and respond to issues on the ground.
The launch event, held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre in Liliendaal, was attended by several key figures, including Director General of the Ministry, Madanlall Ramraj; IDB’s Country Representative, Lorena Solorzano Salazar; and Director of Planning at the Ministry, Natasha Beerjit-Deonarine, underscoring the importance of this collaborative effort to elevate Guyana’s agricultural future.
