Boosting Hinterland Food Security: Agriculture Minister Mustapha, Pledges Additional Facility

By Marvin Cato | HGP Nightly News |

SMITH CREEK, REGION ONE — As activities commemorating Agriculture Month continue across the nation, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha traveled into Region One (Barima-Waini) on Wednesday to deliver the feature address at the official commissioning of the Morawhanna and Smith Creek shadehouses during a community ceremony held at Smith Creek.

During his address, Minister Mustapha commended the collective leadership of rural women who spearheaded the initiative, notably praising the local women’s collective for championing agricultural diversification in remote riverine communities.

Reaffirming the government’s long-term agricultural agenda for the Barima-Waini district, the Minister pledged that the Ministry will finance and construct an additional shadehouse facility to further boost cultivation capacity for the women’s farming group.

Expanding the National Shadehouse Footprint

Minister Mustapha emphasized that protective cultivation techniques are critical to shielding crops from unpredictable tropical climate patterns, heavy rainfall, and high humidity in hinterland riverine corridors:

• Nationwide Agricultural Expansion: The Ministry’s protective farming strategy has rolled out smart agriculture structures across every administrative region to stabilize domestic vegetable supplies.
• Empowering Hinterland Growers: The commissioning provides local farmers with controlled growing environments, lowering pest pressure and significantly improving yields of high-value leafy greens and cash crops.
• Additional Facility Pledged: In response to the community’s proactive management, Minister Mustapha committed state resources to establish a third shadehouse structure to accommodate more female farmers.

“We are growing our own crops around the country with different farms and through the shade house program we implemented,” Minister Mustapha highlighted.

Moving Beyond Primary Cultivation into Agro-Processing

Urging rural farmers to position themselves along the broader value chain, the Agriculture Minister insisted that increasing farm-gate tonnage is only the first step toward building sustainable rural wealth:

• Value Addition: Mustapha urged farming groups to explore drying, packaging, bottling, and preservation to manufacture shelf-stable goods capable of reaching regional markets.
• Integrated Supply Logistics: The Minister highlighted that cold storage, post-harvest transport, and commercial marketing channels must be developed concurrently to ensure hinterland produce moves seamlessly into national distribution networks.

“Our efforts must go beyond producing more; it must also include processing, storage, transportation, marketing, so that agricultural products can move more efficiently,” Mustapha urged.

Multi-Stakeholder Collaboration: GGI, GMCS, and NAREI

The realization of the Morawhanna and Smith Creek shadehouses reflects an established tripartite partnership linking the public sector, multinational resource partners, and environmental civil society:

• Greater Guyana Initiative (GGI): The project received capital backing through the Greater Guyana Initiative—a consortium funded by Stabroek Block co-venturers ExxonMobil Guyana, Hess, and CNOOC—which channels private investments into domestic capacity building, food security, and community livelihoods.
• Guyana Marine Conservation Society (GMCS): The initiative highlights the sustained conservation and community development work led by Annette Arjoon-Martin and the GMCS, who have worked closely with indigenous and riverine communities across the Barima-Mora Passage to couple biodiversity protection with economic opportunities.
• NAREI Technical Support: The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) provided technical guidance, shadehouse engineering, agronomic training, and planting material to ensure long-term crop viability.

The commissioning marks another milestone in the expansion of climate-resilient agriculture within Guyana’s northwest district, providing indigenous women with the infrastructure needed to secure both household nutrition and independent commercial revenue.