Guyana aims to produce more than 60 percent of its onion needs and achieve self-sufficiency in corn, soya, feed, black-eyed peas, and red beans, potentially saving over US$150 million annually in foreign exchange, President Irfaan Ali announced on Wednesday.
Speaking at the Annual General Meeting of the Private Sector Commission, President Ali detailed the country’s agricultural plans. “We have experimented with onion production and proven that we have the right mix of soil,” he said. Although the initial capital cost might be high, Ali projected that in just over a year, Guyana could produce all the onions it currently imports. “Within about 16 months, we might be in a position to say that we can cut our imports on onion by more than 60 percent,” he noted.
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The anticipated US$150 million saving would include the cost of fertilizer, which is also set to be produced locally. Ali further announced that large-scale planting of black-eyed peas and red beans would commence in four days, with the goal of achieving self-sufficiency in these items by the first quarter of 2025. He stated that one year later, Guyana would be able to supply all markets in the 15-nation Caribbean Community (CARICOM). “The small farmers will help to support the local market,” he added.
By October 2024, Guyana expects to produce “all the feed we need for aquaculture,” reducing the cost of this input by 50 percent. The government has also announced plans for full self-sufficiency in corn and soya by the end of 2025, with an additional 3,000 acres under cultivation in the Tacama area. “That would allow us to have all the backward and forward linkages to have the full feed production for livestock and poultry right here in Guyana,” Ali said.
Looking ahead to 2027, Guyana hopes to capture at least 35 percent of the regional market for corn, soy, and feed. Ali suggested that other Caribbean producers could benefit from setting up factories in Guyana to take advantage of a 50-percent reduction in electricity costs and large-scale production of raw materials. “The better thing for producers in the rest of the region to do is to partner with our local private sector and create their manufacturing facilities here,” he proposed.
Historically, Guyana had experimented with producing onions locally in the 1970s and 1980s, but high transportation costs from the interior made the initiative unprofitable. Black-eyed peas had also been produced locally during that period.
