To ensure it stays on track for rapid economic diversification, Vice President, Dr. Bharrat Jagdeo said on March 3 that Guyana is in talks with India to utilise its technological inventions to boost agricultural output. The official said India is regarded as a supreme leader in innovative agriculture and research systems, adding that Guyana is intent on creating an avenue for knowledge-sharing.
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As a demonstration of India’s innovativeness, he said the Asian state has mastered the art of tissue culture technology. This allows for the replication of an animal or plant cell in an artificial environment before transplanting same to a new space for growth and development.
He said, “When we look at our nurseries, they are anaemic; they can’t supply the planting material that we need at scale…With tissue culture, you can do millions of plants in a short period of time where everyone has the same consistency in quality and productivity. So, we want to work with India to bring in these facilities. It would be a big boost to say the cane farming industry and any tree that is grown you can grow it through tissue culture in labs.”
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The Vice President said Guyana is desirous of having India’s help in this regard to expand its productivity in spices, livestock, aquaculture, coconut, and sugar cane.
The official said it is the government’s intention to move the country away from the current peasant-type farming system to one that is armed with 21st-century business practices. He said India is King in this regard as he cited that even its approach to fertilizer application is impressive.
“…They are really great at some things like nano-fertiliser. We are told that 2lbs of nano-fertiliser is as effective as say 45 lbs of regular urea (which is mostly used by locals),” the Vice President shared.
He said over the next few months, Guyana will likely welcome several Indian consultants to advance the foregoing efforts.
