FGM Unveils Agriculture Plan to Revitalize Farming and Ensure Food Security
Marvin Cato, HGP Nightly News
The Forward Guyana Movement (FGM) has unveiled its “Purple Contract on Agriculture”, outlining sweeping plans to revitalize Guyana’s agriculture sector and guarantee food security.
The initiative focuses on reviving agricultural cooperatives, strengthening extension services, offering targeted subsidies, improving storage facilities, and introducing crop failure insurance to ensure stability and break the cycle of poverty. According to the party, this approach is critical to unlocking opportunities, creating jobs, and building a nation where no one is left behind.
Speaking Thursday, FGM presidential candidate Amanza Walton-Desir stressed that one of the centerpiece measures will be the re-establishment of an Agricultural Bank.
“The current financing framework does not support agriculture in the manner that an agriculture-specific bank could,” Walton-Desir explained.
She emphasized that investment in agriculture technology and diversification will not only reduce reliance on the oil sector but also generate new jobs in dynamic industries.
The plan also outlines public-private partnerships, engaging local groups, entrepreneurs, and members of the diaspora to support industrial projects in agriculture and responsible manufacturing. Importantly, Walton-Desir pledged that farmers themselves would gain ownership stakes, such as shares, in these ventures.
The FGM candidate also tied the policy to addressing cost of living pressures, pointing to rising food, housing, and transportation costs that have outpaced wage growth, pushing families closer to poverty.
