Minister within the Public Works Ministry, Deodat Indar, who is currently performing the duties of Agriculture Minister, on Saturday commissioned another branch of Farm Supplies Limited in Corentyne, Berbice, Region Six (East Berbice-Corentyne).
Minister Indar, speaking on behalf of President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, said the $100 million investment is testimony of the country’s expanding economy. Farm Supplies Ltd specialises in the sale of agricultural and industrial equipment.
Indar noted that agriculture in 2020 accounted for the lion’s share of Guyana’s non-oil Gross Domestic Product. Government through its 2021 National Budget invested over $22 billion in the sector.
The Minister reminded the gathering that when the PPP/C Government took office, it kept its promise to remove a slew of taxes. One of those was the removal of Value Added Tax (VAT) on farming equipment.
The removal of those taxes, the Minister said, is among the first things undertaken by the Administration when it took office. He reiterated that every time a farmer buys equipment, the removal of VAT places over $6 million back into their pockets.
“Government is not taking any more money from farmers in that way, leave that to the APNU Government, let them do that, that is why they are in the Opposition.”
Indar further stated that President Ali will continue to support the agriculture sector while applauding the Managing Director of Farm Supplies Ltd, Renger Van Dijk, for investing in one of the regions that contribute heavily to the country’s agriculture sector.
He noted that such investments will be needed as the country continues to expand.
“People only invest their hard-earned money when they know there is stability and there will be returns on their investment.”
Van Dijk in his remarks said the company does more than just provide farming equipment to stakeholders. “We offer complete solutions for the farmers,” he pointed out. Since its establishment in 1993, the company has been a supplier of agriculture equipment to a number of Government agricultural and mining agencies, and the wider Caribbean.
It offers a wide range of product lines such as Doosan Infracore, Tatu Marchesan, Jacto, FG Wilson and more.
