Local onion production to meet national demand by year-end

Guyana is closing in on its ambitious food security goals and, according to Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, local onion production will be sufficient to meet national demand by the end of the year.

He said this will eliminate the need for imports as government continues efforts to expand local food production and strengthen agriculture.

Mustapha on Tuesday said farmers across the country have already begun taking up the opportunity to cultivate onions following support from the ministry.

“I want to tell you by the end of this year, Guyana will produce all our onion needs. We will not import onion anymore in this country. We will produce all our onions,” the minister said.

He said he has met with farmers and the commitment to achieving this goal has been agreed upon. The country aims to cut the import of key produce like onions by 50% saving between US$3 million and US$5 million annually on the import bill. Mustapha said that the initiative forms part of government’s broader strategy to increase domestic food production.

Mustapha also highlighted progress in other agricultural subsectors, including reaching the national target for producing poultry feed by year end as well as brackish water shrimp production in Region Six.

He said government is continuing to invest in programmes aimed at increasing production, improving food security and reducing reliance on imports.

“We have also started to help the farmers in Region Six with the brackish water shrimp… when they were producing 10,000 kilograms per month, now, because of our input, they are producing 120,000 to 140,000 kilograms,” Mustapha said.

The minister added that expanding local production across multiple commodities remains a key priority, noting that government continues to encourage farmers to diversify their operations while providing technical support and other interventions to boost output.