As part of the Government’s food security agenda, Senior Minister in the Office of the President with Responsibility for Finance, Dr. Ashni Singh, on Monday tabled Poultry Sector Agreements between the Government and Citizens Bank Guyana Inc., Demerara Bank Limited, Guyana Bank for Trade & Industry Limited and Republic Bank (Guyana) Limited.
In supporting the development and expansion of the poultry sector as it relates to the cost of financing, this intervention will allow participating Commercial Banks to lower their interest rates on loans from 8 percent to:
- up to $500,000 at an interest rate of no more than 3.5 percent per annum; and
- greater than $500,000 at a rate of no more than 5 percent per annum
Guyana holds the portfolio with responsibility for agriculture, agricultural diversification and food security in CARICOM and is spearheading the regional efforts of reducing its food import bill. The strategy outlines specific actions that are required by each state in achieving the 25 by 2025 goal of reducing CARICOM’s food import bill by 25 percent by 2025.
The Government has been consistently supporting the development and expansion of the agriculture sector and in this regard, in March this year, a $900 million forestry revolving fund for small and medium-sized loggers was officially launched at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre during a ceremony held to commemorate International Day of Forests.
At that ceremony, the Senior Finance Minister had emphasised the need for investments in the forestry sector, noting that forests remain an integral part of environmental conservation and that the fund is part of the government’s commitment to increasing focus on small, medium and community loggers.
