President Ali Reaffirms Commitment to Modernizing Agriculture, Cutting CARICOM Food Import Bill
By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News.
Guyana’s ninth president, Dr. Irfaan Ali, has recommitted to accelerating efforts to modernize agriculture and expand trade, intending to reduce Guyana’s—and by extension CARICOM’s—food import bill.
Taking the oath of office for a second term on Sunday, following the September 1 General and Regional Elections, President Ali also resumed his role as lead Head of Government with responsibility for agriculture within the CARICOM Cabinet.
The president pledged to fast-track food security and logistics by modernizing agriculture and agro-processing, establishing new shipping and air links, and ensuring that Caribbean farms supply Caribbean households.
“We will strengthen collective resilience through disaster risk financing, shared emergency response, and joint action on climate adaptation—because when the seas rise or the winds rage, we stand or fall together,” Ali said.
He also outlined plans to boost climate adaptation to make agriculture more sustainable, noting that food systems depend on resilient infrastructure.
Earlier this year, President Ali unveiled a holistic regional framework to overhaul the Caribbean’s food systems. The vision includes:
- Modernizing agricultural infrastructure.
- Integrating technological solutions.
- Increasing participation from youth and women.
- Addressing challenges posed by climate change and supply chain disruptions.
The framework highlights six strategic projects developed with the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA), including:
- Capacity building for agriculture extension services.
- Establishing a digital fabrication lab (Fab Lab).
- Diversifying the fruit crop industry.
- Developing a bioeconomic model in organic waste management.
- Improving water security.
The president stressed that these measures aim not only to guarantee food security but also to strengthen the Caribbean’s resilience and competitiveness in global markets.
