Guyana is positioning its agricultural sector as a regional production and investment hub, leveraging its land, freshwater resources, expanding infrastructure and strategic access to CARICOM and northern Brazil to strengthen food security across the Caribbean.
Investment is being channelled into key areas including corn and soy production, livestock, aquaculture, large-scale farming, agro-processing, cold storage, logistics, packaging and value-added food production.
The focus is increasingly shifting away from the export of primary commodities, with Guyana seeking to attract investors to establish processing and other value-added operations locally.
This approach is expected to create greater productive capacity, expand employment and retain more of the value generated within the country.
According to Chief Investment Officer of the Guyana Office for Investment, Peter Ramsaroop, during an interview with the Department of Information (DPI), this presents opportunities for CARICOM businesses through joint ventures, contract farming, processing facilities, regional distribution networks and technology partnerships.
“The investment proposition is straightforward: produce in Guyana, add value in Guyana and use Guyana as a platform to supply the Caribbean,” Ramsaroop urged.
CARICOM investment currently accounts for approximately five per cent of recorded investment activity in Guyana, with notable participation from Suriname and Trinidad and Tobago, as well as investments from Barbados in services and other Caribbean markets.
However, the broader objective is to deepen regional economic integration by creating supply chains that connect Caribbean capital and expertise with Guyana’s agricultural resources and access to South American markets.
As Guyana expands its agricultural production and processing capacity, the country is seeking to become more than a supplier of raw commodities, positioning itself as a regional platform where production, processing, storage, and distribution converge to support CARICOM’s food-security objectives.
The strategy ultimately seeks to transform investment into sustained regional food security while creating new opportunities for Caribbean businesses to participate in Guyana’s expanding productive economy.