Georgetown, Guyana – September 9, 2025 – President Irfaan Ali, fresh from being sworn in for a second term, has recommitted to reshaping the way Guyana and the wider Caribbean feed themselves, promising to accelerate agricultural modernisation and strengthen regional trade in a bid to slash the region’s soaring food import bill. Speaking during his inaugural address at State House in Georgetown on Sunday, following the September 1 General and Regional elections, Ali underscored that his government’s mission goes beyond Guyana’s borders, with a vision that seeks to transform the food systems of the entire CARICOM bloc.
“We’ll accelerate food security and logistics, modernising agriculture and agro-processing, opening new shipping and air links, and driving down the region’s import bill so Caribbean tables are fed by Caribbean farms,” Ali declared, reaffirming his position as CARICOM’s lead Head of Government with responsibility for agriculture. With Guyana’s vast land, oil resources, and rising influence in regional policy, Ali positioned the country as a driving force for food and energy security across the Caribbean. He argued that Guyana is not only poised to meet its own food needs but also to help neighbouring states cut costs, expand manufacturing, and build cleaner energy systems capable of sustaining industries and jobs.
“In CARICOM, our purpose is practical and people-centred: to make this single market work for ordinary families with cheaper energy, faster payment and roaming, recognisable skills across borders, and scholarships and apprenticeships that open doors for youth,” he said. He pledged that the integration project would not remain on paper, promising real benefits in trade, infrastructure, and opportunities for young people.
Ali also addressed the shared vulnerability of Caribbean nations to climate change, calling for stronger collective action to withstand rising seas and extreme weather. “We’ll strengthen collective resilience through disaster risk financing, shared emergency response, and joint action on climate adaptation, because when the sea rises or the winds rage, we stand or fall together,” he said, noting that resilience must be built into every aspect of regional development.
Back in February, Ali unveiled a wide-ranging framework to overhaul Caribbean food systems. That blueprint aimed not only to secure supply chains but to modernise infrastructure, embrace technology, and create greater opportunities for women and youth in agriculture. It also confronted challenges brought on by climate change, global market instability, and the disruptions to supply chains that have tested the region’s ability to feed itself.
Central to the plan are six strategic projects designed with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation and Agriculture. These include improving water security, developing a bio-economic model for managing organic waste, diversifying fruit crops, creating a digital fabrication lab, enhancing the adaptive capacity of agro-marine systems in coastal communities, and building capacity in agricultural extension services across the Caribbean. Together, they represent the kind of structural changes Ali says are needed to break the cycle of dependency on food imports that now cost the region billions of U.S. dollars each year.
For the President, the message was clear: Guyana will lead by example, but the success of the vision depends on regional unity. By committing to food security, energy resilience, and climate adaptation in one ambitious package, Ali is betting that Guyana’s second oil-fuelled decade will not only power its own transformation but lift the entire Caribbean toward greater self-sufficiency and sustainability.
