Berbice farmers seeking land, irrigation assistance

More than 300 persons attended the Ministry of Agriculture’s Open Day at the Albion Sports Complex in Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne), on Saturday, seeking assistance with agricultural land, irrigation and other farming needs. 

The outreach brought together established farmers, prospective agricultural producers and other residents, who engaged directly with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha and officials from various agencies within the ministry.

Speaking to this publication following the engagement, Mustapha said the turnout reflected growing interest in agriculture, with many persons seeking land and other forms of assistance to establish or expand farming operations. He disclosed that 205 numbers had been distributed during the outreach, while more than 300 persons attended and almost 300 issues were raised and dealt with to varying degrees.

“I’m happy there were a number of issues that were raised, and most of these are people now looking to get more irrigation water,” Mustapha said.

He explained that requests for improved irrigation, agricultural land and land clearing featured prominently among the concerns raised, while several persons also expressed interest in livestock rearing.

“Most of them want to get into agriculture in terms of farming. They are coming; they want to get into livestock rearing,” the Minister said.

According to Mustapha, some persons had already applied for agricultural land and were seeking access to it, while others required assistance to clear land before beginning cultivation. He said several matters were dealt with directly during the outreach, while others would require follow-up by the Ministry’s technical agencies.

Addressing concerns

Following the engagement, Mustapha met with officials from the agencies under his Ministry and instructed them to begin addressing outstanding concerns within seven working days.

“Within seven working days we must start to deal with these issues and address most of the issues that can be addressed,” he said.

The Minister indicated that he would assess the progress made after one week to determine how many matters had been resolved and which required additional intervention.

“I’m hoping that in a weeks time from now I will do an assessment to see how many issues would have been resolved and how many more we have to continue to work on,” Mustapha stated.

However, not all the concerns raised fell within the responsibility of the Ministry of Agriculture.

Mustapha disclosed that some attendees sought assistance with housing, lands and surveys, health and public works matters, which he undertook to forward to the relevant Government ministers for attention. He explained that the outreach initiative was intended to provide citizens with direct access to Government officials, allowing them to raise concerns and seek assistance without relying solely on visits to individual ministries and agencies.

“People see these outreaches or open days that we are having as a direct interaction with the minister to deal with issues directly,” he said.

The initiative forms part of the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s approach to public engagement, which involves ministers and senior officials visiting communities to hear concerns, identify problems and facilitate interventions by the relevant agencies.

Meanwhile, Mustapha attributed the growing demand for agricultural land and assistance to increased Government investment in the sector and greater public confidence in farming as an economic opportunity.

“I think now people are looking to see that the sector is moving. They are seeing agriculture with the investment that we are making, and they are seeing also that there is a future in agriculture,” he explained.

He said the interest extended beyond established farmers seeking to expand their operations, with prospective producers also requesting assistance to enter crop cultivation and livestock production.

“So, they are seeing now the benefit of the sector and they want to get involved, and that augurs well for us,” Mustapha added.

The Minister also announced plans to extend the outreach initiative to other administrative regions, identifying Region Two (Pomeroon-Supenaam) as the next destination.

He said similar engagements would subsequently be held in other regions, with the aim of reaching most coastal regions before the end of 2026.