Jul 16, 2026
2 min read
Innovation, resilience and technology will drive the agriculture sector toward improved productivity and stronger protection for farmers, the Government said Wednesday, as it laid out a long-term vision for the industry's future.
Delivering the feature address at the commissioning of the Government's Tunnel Ventilated Poultry Pens Project at Mon Repos, East Coast Demerara, Prime Minister Mark Phillips said the vision centres on shielding farmers from unpredictable weather, freeing them from the volatility of global markets through local input production, and ensuring value-added processing so produce reaches consumers with quality and consistency.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha, who commissioned the project, said Guyana is transitioning from a country that simply grows food to one that designs and manages modern agricultural ecosystems.
"Under the visionary leadership of President Mohamed Irfaan Ali, Guyana is transitioning from a country that grows food to a nation that designs and manages modern agricultural ecosystems. We are positioning our livestock sector to be efficient, sustainable, and scalable to levels never before seen in CARICOM," Minister Mustapha said.
The more than $1 billion initiative, conceptualised by President Irfaan Ali, forms part of the Government's flagship Agriculture Innovation and Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP) and aims to encourage young professionals to embrace technology-driven agriculture while expanding poultry production through modern, climate-controlled farming systems.
The project represents an investment of more than $1 billion in infrastructure, equipment and training, and has expanded the AIEP across Regions Three, Four and Five. It comprises five state-of-the-art poultry facilities at Mon Repos, Cornelia Ida and Onverwagt, all of which have been completed and are currently stocked with birds that are performing well.
Designed to international poultry production standards, each tunnel-ventilated pen accommodates between 20,000 and 45,000 birds, with broilers reaching market weight in five to six weeks. The facilities use controlled-environment technology that enhances production efficiency while improving flock health and overall performance.
