Guyana is growing more coconuts and expanding the industry but Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha says Indian specialists are helping local experts boost production even further.
In 2023, 40,000 coconut seedlings were produced and of this amount, 26,000 were the high-yielding Brazilian Green Dwarf seed nuts imported by government to boost the production capacity.
About 216 farmers were contracted to cultivate this variety.
Additionally, another 1,274 acres of farmlands came under cultivation last year, resulting in an increase of approximately 10% in acreage in 2023 as compared to 2020.
What the government hopes to do is decentralise production. So 297 farmers from Regions Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and 10 benefited from training in aspects of coconut production. Coconut seedlings are also being produced at 10 nurseries located in Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Five, Six and Nine.
The Agriculture Minister recently said these efforts are helping Guyana increase coconut production.
“They (the farmers) have shown a very keen interest and we have seen since 2020, with the effort we have made and the investment we have made, we’ve seen the increase in cultivation and production.
“We are working with groups across the country and areas, I started off with Pomeroon because Pomeroon have large cultivation of coconut…but we will be working with other groups across the country over time. We have groups on the East Bank, Mahaicony, this will be a continuous process,” Minister Mustapha said.
Indian specialists are also helping Guyana boost production.
“Recently we had two specialists come from India to look at the Coconut industry and they are now compiling their report and we are hoping that shortly we can have that report and implement the recommendations to help us with coconut production across the country.” the Agriculture Minister said.
Meanwhile, Mustapha highlighted that the government is also focused on expanding the coconut industry by creating coconut products. Eight fiber machines were purchased and will be operable in several regions by month end to produce coconut fiber and coco peat.
