The Government intends to inject $97.6B into the Agriculture Sector to advance its growth and development, Finance Minister, Dr Ashni Singh, told the National Assembly today as he presented the Budget.
In delivering his address, Dr Singh told the House that since 2020, the Agriculture Sector has been experiencing rapid transformation, evolving from small scale, rural based, subsistence level farming enterprises to dynamic large scale, plantation scale industries.
That trend, he said, will continue in 2024, with massive investments in the sector totaling $97.6B.
“In 2024, we will continue to promote investments in large-scale cultivation by: opening new lands; developing high-yielding, pest-resistant and climate-resilient crop varieties; encouraging the establishment of modern farms to facilitate the use of technology and more efficient farm practices; promoting increased aquaculture and shrimp farming; cultivating new crops and expanding livestock production; modernizing, upgrading and strengthening both our drainage and irrigation and farm to market infrastructure and support services,” the Finance Minister detailed.
Further, he said the government will commission a tissue culture laboratory, which is expected to produce 1,000,000 plantlets per year. This increased production, he said, will provide farmers with easier access to planting materials for crops such as citrus, pineapple, breadfruit, coconut, ginger, turmeric, plantain and bananas among others.
Zooming in on the Rice Industry, Minister Singh told the House that in 2023 Government, among other things, invested in a new high yielding, bio-fortified, zinc enriched rice variety, and successfully established a seed processing facility at Black Bush Polder.
He said technology was also used to advance rice cultivation across the industry. He said in 2024, rice farmers can expect added support amounting to $1.3B.
“Mr. Speaker, in 2024, we will continue to invest in the improvement of the quality and quantity of seed paddy available to the rice farmers and provide enhanced best practices in the cultivation of paddy. We continue to research and develop high-yielding varieties with good milling and cooking qualities and varieties that are both salt tolerant and resistant to major rice diseases. The G14-10 high yielding variety will be evaluated in farmers’ fields in 2024. This year, the sum of $1.3 billion will be expended by the GRDB to support increased production and productivity of the rice industry,” the Minister disclosed.
Meanwhile, Government has set aside some $2.6B to advance the production of non-traditional crops such as corn, soya bean, citrus, and coconuts, as well as high-value crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, bell peppers, romaine lettuce and carrots among others.
Additionally, persons operating within the Livestock Sector can expect an investment of $1.2B, while the Fisheries and Aquaculture Sector is projected to receive $1.2B.
In 2023, the Agriculture Sector received $60.4B.
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