AFC Unveils Agricultural Policy Focused on Food Security and Farmers’ Dignity
By Marvin cato | HGP Nightly News
The Alliance for Change (AFC) has rolled out its “Bread, Honor and Hope” agricultural policy, pledging to build an equitable, resilient, inclusive, sustainable, and profitable agricultural economy.
The party said its plan will restore dignity to those who till the land, reshape food production, and position Guyana as the leading food exporter to the Caribbean. Modernization, the AFC stressed, must always be guided by the principle of ensuring food access for all citizens.
Honoring the sacrifices of enslaved and indentured laborers who built Guyana’s agricultural foundation, the AFC said agriculture must be treated not just as an economic activity but as part of the nation’s heritage and identity.
A bold proposal within the policy is the abolition of the Ministry of Agriculture and the establishment of a new Ministry of Food Security, tasked with:
- Restoring dignity to agricultural workers
- Guaranteeing national food accessibility and regional food security
- Diversifying and modernizing food production
- Building climate resilience and sustainable land stewardship
- Developing value-added industries and agri-entrepreneurship
- Reforming governance and land use systems
Specialized departments would also be created, focusing on food justice, food systems monitoring, climate and sustainability, aquaculture, nutrition, and industrial agriculture.
In its first 24 months in office, the AFC says it would:
- Conduct a national agricultural census
- Launch the People’s Agricultural Transformation Programme
- Provide 20,000 low-interest loans for youth and women
- Develop 10 climate-resilient model farms
- Adopt the CARICOM Agri-Food Strategy as national policy
- Rehabilitate five key drainage and irrigation schemes
The party emphasized that people—not machines, not foreign capital, and not empty promises—must remain at the center of Guyana’s agricultural future.
According to the AFC, only then can Guyana truly fulfill its destiny as the breadbasket of the Caribbean and a global model for people-first food security.
