The Ministry of Agriculture’s Agricultural Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP) is recording strong results in youth participation, business creation and modern production.
This is according to Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Vikash Ramkissoon. The programme, launched in 2022, aims to empower youth in agriculture, boosting food security and fostering agribusinesses through modern techniques such as hydroponics and agro-processing.
Since its launch, Ramkissoon said the AIEP has expanded to six regions, engaging more than 600 participants, while maintaining a 60/40 female-to-male ratio.
He added that the programme has also helped convert training into tangible outcomes, with about 70 per cent of full-time participants starting their own agri-businesses.
Ramkissoon further pointed to production and innovation milestones, including the launch of an agro-processing line, the cultivation of crops on a commercial scale that had not previously been grown in Guyana, and the expansion into what he described as the largest hydroponics facilities in the region.
He said these efforts are aligned with President Dr. Irfaan Ali’s push to position itself as a major regional food hub.
In that context, Ramkissoon noted that Guyana has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with Bloomberg Green, a United States-based company, to support national food security and boost agricultural exports.
According to Ramkissoon, the partnership is intended to help advance Guyana’s role in regional food production while contributing to the wider CARICOM goal of reducing the region’s food import bill by 25 per cent, a target Caribbean leaders have been pursuing under the “25 by 2025” initiative, and extending the momentum toward 2030.
