Works are progressing on the new Bean Conditioning and Storage Facility at Kimbia, Region 10 (Upper Demerara-Berbice) – a major agricultural infrastructure project aimed at strengthening Guyana’s capacity to store, condition and process beans.
On Saturday, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha conducted a site visit to inspect the progress at the location.
The facility includes the development of six 250-tonne silos, providing a total storage capacity of 1500 tonnes. The facility will also feature two wet bins, two dry bins, a warehouse, and a processing plant.
Once completed and operational, the facility will provide critical post-harvest infrastructure for the growing bean industry, improving the country’s capacity to properly store, condition, and process beans while reducing post-harvest losses.
The investment is also expected to provide greater support to farmers in Region 10 and surrounding communities, thus creating opportunities for increased production and contributing to the Government’s broader efforts to expand agricultural production, strengthen food security and develop new markets for locally produced commodities.
According to Minister Mustapha, “The development of modern agricultural infrastructure is essential to supporting farmers and ensuring that increased production is matched by adequate storage, processing and market opportunities.”
The Kimbia facility is part of the Government’s efforts to modernise the agriculture sector and unlock new areas for agricultural development.
Also in Region 10, the Government has already invested in the facilities, such as three 3000-tonne silos and one 80-tonne-per-hour drying tower at the Tacama Landing, to assist with the large-scale processing of corn and soya as Guyana moves towards becoming self-sufficient in the production of inputs for feed for the livestock sector.
These storage facilities will be further bolstered by the Regional Food Hub currently under construction at Yarrowkabra on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway – another major investment that will strengthen Guyana’s capacity to store, handle and export fresh agricultural produce.
Just over a week ago, Mustapha visited the facility to assess the progress of construction, noting that the facility is on schedule and is expected to be completed within the contractual timeframe.
“This will be a game changer for us in terms of food production and proper storage of perishable commodities. This food hub will have modern cold storage facilities,” he said.
Mustapha added that the building is expected to be completed within the next four weeks and handed over to Blumberg Grains, the United States-based company that will install the cold storage facilities.
The Minister said the facility will provide farmers with an important outlet for storing their produce while also strengthening Guyana’s ability to supply fresh commodities to other CARICOM countries.
He said the Regional Food Hub represents one of the investments through which Guyana is positioning itself to make a meaningful contribution to the 25 by 2025+5 Initiative, which targets a 25 per cent reduction in the region’s food import bill by 2030.
“I’ve always said that for this initiative to be successful, Guyana has to be successful, and this is one of the areas that we are investing in to make our contribution to the 25 by 2025+5 Initiative,” Mustapha noted.
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