Intermediate Savannahs gradually attracting agro-investments

Although there are a few notable and progressive agro-investment projects in the Intermediate Savannahs, the area still seems to be slow to attract the kinds of development that authorities desire. 

In the Low Carbon Development Strategy (LCDS), the government stated that the Intermediate Savannahs have 120,000 hectares of available land ready for lease. The open land requires liming and fertilisation, and is well-suited for at-scale production of crops as listed, and fish farming, the administration highlighted. Further, the state boasts that the area is comparable to Brazil’s Cerrado Region, but has more water and is closer to the Atlantic coast and export markets.

Wide-scale cattle production

According to a senior government official associated with agriculture development in the Intermediate Savannahs, not many new investments have been realised in the area. He explained that many investors had expressed interest, but after they had done their feasibility assessments, there had often been no follow-up.  

One of the newest investments in the savannahs over the last year is the Citrus Growers’ Association, which is looking to plant some 3000 acres of citrus fruits. Another is the Guyana Ranch, involved in Boer goat production. Apart from these two, the other large-scale ventures remain those such as Habibullah Investments’ cattle breeding venture and Dubulay Ranch, a Stine Seed Company’s corn and soybean breeding project. 

The Agriculture Ministry has, however, reported that the savannahs are to be utilised for a wide-scale cattle breeding programme under the Agricultural Export Diversification Programme (ADP), the US$21.9 million initiative aimed at driving export-oriented growth of three clusters, including livestock. The ADP targets development of the livestock cluster around the Berbice River, from the Intermediate Savannahs to its estuary near New Amsterdam. Animals would be reared in the savannahs, and fattened and processed in facilities on the coast, where, for sanitary and logistical reasons, the abattoir which is to be established under the programme would be located. 

Additionally, the LCDS recognises that soybean and seed breeding are currently proceeding in the Intermediate Savannahs. However, the LCDS has added that roads could be upgraded or built to connect the area to the international airport by truck in less than six hours, in order that fresh and perishable produce could be exported. Further, the authorities noted that the Berbice River bisects the Intermediate Savannahs and is navigable to the Atlantic coast by oceangoing ships, a feature which could be valuable for export of products and import of equipment and inputs.

Despite this, the agriculture official has observed that people have been rapidly investing in private lands along the coast, where they benefit from closer access to facilities for maritime export and from better infrastructure. One of the areas that have been seeing a surge in food production and other farming activities is the lands located along the Soesdyke-Linden Highway. These areas have been buzzing with citrus, cash crops and fruit cultivation, most of which are being produced for export.