By: Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |
The Ministry of Agriculture’s Agriculture Month celebrations continued this week with the commissioning of a $450 million Biotechnology Plant Tissue Culture Laboratory at the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI).
Marvin Cato tells us more.
“This facility that we are commissioning here will truly make your studies become reality.”
That was Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, delivering the feature address as he encouraged students to apply their classroom knowledge through practical, hands-on experiences at the new high-tech laboratory.
Minister Mustapha explained that the specialized facility will be used to advance plant propagation techniques in a controlled, sterile environment, allowing scientists to grow plants from small tissue samples using artificial nutrient mediums.
He said the new lab will help to reduce Guyana and CARICOM’s food import bill and enhance scientific innovation in agriculture.
“When you enhance science, you have good results,” Minister Mustapha affirmed.
The laboratory will be central to large-scale cloning, developing disease-free plants, and producing new crop varieties.
The project aims to produce one million plantlets per year, supporting Guyana’s new national food storage facility and expanding the country’s capacity for agricultural exports.
“As we commission this new tissue culture laboratory under the guidance of NAREI and its dedicated staff, we mark another transformative step in this government’s agenda for food security and agricultural modernization,” the Minister said.
Minister within the Ministry of Agriculture, Vikram Ramkissoon, praised the initiative as a long-awaited development that will help make value-added agriculture a reality.
“This facility will give farmers access to nearly one million plantlets annually, ensuring we fulfill our agricultural diversification agenda,” Ramkissoon stated.
He also credited both local and international partnerships, including India’s technical collaboration, for advancing Guyana’s modernization drive in agriculture.
Manish Kumar, representing the Indian High Commission, echoed those sentiments, noting that India and Guyana share similar agricultural ambitions.
He expressed confidence that Guyana is on the path to effectively using biotechnology and modern science to transform its farming sector and boost productivity.
