Agriculture app with real-time crop, soil & market data coming – Mustapha

Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has announced that within the coming week, the government will launch a national agriculture mobile application designed to place real-time crop, soil, weather, and market intelligence directly into the hands of farmers, even as Guyana moves closer to commissioning a regional agriculture data centre that will serve the wider Caribbean by March.

The twin initiatives form part of what the Minister described as a decisive push to modernise and fully digitalise the country’s agriculture and fisheries sectors.

“In another week from now, I will be launching an app where anyone can go on that app and get all the information on agriculture,” Mustapha disclosed.

According to the Minister, the application will consolidate a wide range of critical data into a single platform, including weather forecasts, research from the National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI), and detailed soil mapping across the country.

“If you go into Black Bush Polder, it will tell you what kind of crop can grow there. You go to Linden, and that will happen,” he explained, noting that farmers will also receive guidance on crop selection based on market potential.

“You will see different areas, and what are the type of crops you should plant to get better market for it,” he added.

The Minister described the app as the first major step in fully digitalising the agriculture sector, signalling a shift away from traditional practices toward data-driven decision-making.

“Farmers don’t take technology seriously. They want to do things how they used to do it before, how their foreparents used to do things. So we want to change that concept,” Mustapha said.

Beyond the mobile application, Guyana is also nearing completion of a state-of-the-art agriculture data centre and situation room, which Mustapha said is approximately 75 per cent completed. He expressed hope that the facility will be commissioned by March.

“That data centre would not be only for Guyana, but the entire Caribbean,” he stated, pointing out that a comparable centre exists in Costa Rica at the headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA).

Once operational, the facility is expected to provide real-time regional weather intelligence, soil mapping and crop suitability data across multiple countries, positioning Guyana as a regional hub for agricultural information and coordination.

The digital transformation effort extends to the fisheries sector, where the Ministry has already implemented several technology-driven measures. Among them is the installation of tracking devices on fishing vessels to enhance safety at sea.

“We have over 500 vessels now that have these tracking devices on it,” Mustapha revealed, explaining that a central monitoring station can now track vessels and respond quickly if they encounter difficulties offshore.

“So when they go out there, and they encounter difficulties, we can know which part and track them in the sea and get them back safely to land,” he said.

The Ministry is also preparing to launch what it calls the PAM digital platform by the end of March. The system is expected to integrate landing sites across the country into a unified digital network, providing fisherfolk with improved access to information and services.

Mustapha indicated that training will be a key component of the transition, as the Ministry works to ensure that farmers and fisherfolk are equipped to utilise the new technologies effectively. He noted that fisherfolk organisations across the country have been reactivated and that efforts are underway to compile a comprehensive national database of those operating within the industry.

“The fishing industry is very fluid. People come here, work for a month and leave. We want to change that concept and culture too because that is why we want to make it a more permanent job in the fishing industry,” he said.

The Minister confirmed that funding for the digital expansion initiatives has already been provided for in the national budget, with advertisements issued and procurement processes moving forward through competitive bidding.

With the agriculture app set for launch, the regional data centre nearing completion and the fisheries sector being integrated into digital platforms, the government is positioning technology at the centre of its strategy to boost productivity, improve safety and strengthen long-term sustainability across Guyana’s agriculture industry.