Chamber president: Look to Guyana for food security
President of the Couva Point Lisas Chamber of Commerce Liaquat Ali said T&T should consider looking to Guyana for increased food security. He was at the time speaking with reporters at a prize distribution for Old Mac Agro Supplies Limited and Trinidad Parboil Limited’s Lenten competition in Couva.
Ali said rice one heavily consumed commodities imported into the country.T&T is capable of producing only 10 per cent of the white rice needed, so all of the parboiled rice and 90 per cent of white rice is imported. The figure is more than 40,000 tonnes annually and continues to rise, he said.
Ali said more T&T businessmen should take advantage of agricultural opportunities in Guyana. He said Old Mac Agro started diversifying its operations into Guyana in the last decade and has now established a rice plantation and a mill in there to ensure the company gets a steady supply of product for T&T consumers rather than having to depend solely on middlemen.
He said there is a large local demand for beans and animal feed products such as corn.
In 2013, Food Production Minister Devant Maharaj signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Guyana’s Agriculture Ministry for T&T farmers to access 10,000 acres of arable land for cultivation. Six commodities were identified for development, including corn, citrus fruits and soya beans.
Contacted for an update on that plan, Maharaj said the process is ongoing and Government will act as a facilitator to encourage private investment.