
3 minute read
Pres Ali’s agriculture youth innovation programme earns over $10M
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has announced that the Government’s Agriculture and Innovation Entrepreneurship Programme (AIEP) has earned more than $10 million to date.
The initiative was launched by President Dr Irfaan Ali in January 2022, at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC).
The President had stated that the flagship undertaking would stimulate and
Man allegedly drowns during outing with friends
A28-year-old man has lost his life after he allegedly drowned in a creek along the SoesdykeLinden Highway on Sunday.
Dead is Kester Guillians of Bent Street, Wortmanville, Georgetown. While the Police did not release any information about the incident, the late Kester Guillians’s brother, when contacted, recalled receiving a telephone call at about 15:00h on Sunday, informing him that his brother had drowned.

This brother related that Kester had been taken to the Diamond Hospital, but doctors had refused to “touch” his body until a family member arrived. Further, he explained that up to late Monday, Police have not properly updated the family on the matter. “All we are hearing is hearsay,” this brother has lamented.
Reports are that Kester Guillians had left home at around 14:00h on Sunday to go to the creek with friends.
Last January, 31-yearold Patrick Lord of Vive-LaForce, West Bank Demerara had reportedly drowned while swimming in the Kamakabra Creek at Ituni in Region 10.
It was reported that on the day in question, Lord, his brother Paul Lord, and their co-workers had gone to the Silicone Green Sawmill at Yarrowkabra, on the Soesdyke- Linden Highway. Later, they left for UNAMCO Road, Upper Berbice River, but stopped in Linden for fuel and food.
They reportedly arrived in Ituni and made another stop, at Rankin Shop to get supplies, where they also consumed some alcohol. On their journey, they made another stop at Kamakabra Creek, where they went for a swim.
The late Patrick Lord was reportedly swimming near a koker when he went under and never resurface. He was eventually pulled from under the water, but later succumbed.
Knife-wielding bandit attacks, robs woman outside New Thriving Restaurant
The Human Resource Manager of a prominent hotel on the East Bank of Demerara was on Sunday attacked and mugged in front of the New Thriving Restaurant on Main Street in Georgetown.
The Police have said that on Sunday, at about 11:00h, the victim – a resident of Cummings Lodge Housing Scheme, East Coast Demerara - was at the junction of Main and Hope Streets in Georgetown, awaiting transportation to be taken home when she was suddenly approached by the suspect.
The man whipped out a promote significant economic growth to the benefit of young agriculturists.
During an outreach at Black Bush Polder, Corentyne, on Saturday last, Mustapha stressed the success of the innovative venture, and shared several plans for its expansion.
“The project already earned more than $10 million. On a monthly basis and a weekly basis these crops are being sold to the oil and gas industry, to the hotel chains in our country,” the Minister said.
More than 100 young graduates of the University of Guyana and the Guyana School of Agriculture are en- gaged in the shade house farming initiative, growing crops such as broccoli, cauliflower, carrots and romaine and iceberg lettuce.
Initially, about 25 shade houses were to be established for the cultivation of three high value crops. However, the success of the programme prompted the Government to invest further in the initiative.
By the end of 2022, 120 shade houses were constructed to support the production. The Administration aims to engage a further 100 new young agri entrepreneurs and increase the pro- duction of the crops by 50 per cent.
The ambitious goal will benefit young people by providing them with employment opportunities, and boost the country’s economy by increasing food security and exports of high-value crops. The AIEP is a game-changer for Guyana’s agricultural sector, and it is expected to have a significant positive impact on the country in the short and long term.
The Government’s commitment to investing in the programme is a clear indication that it is dedicated to revolutionising the agriculture sector and positioning Guyana as a major player in the global market. knife from the right side of his pants waist before holding on to this woman and taking away her purse, which contained an undisclosed sum of cash, one blue Samsung S10 cellular phone, several ATM cards, and other personal documents.
“When you look at the agriculture sector, the prospect is very bright, we must not have a tunnel vision and just concentrate on cash crop and rice production and believe that is all. We have to move on, consolidate, expand and diversify,” Mustapha told residents.
Looking to the future, the Government has allocated $200 million in its 2023 budget for the expansion of the youth farming programme this year.


The Police have said that the victim put up a fight, resulting in her sustaining injuries to her right knee.
She was taken to the Georgetown Public Hospital for medical attention before being sent away.
CCTV cameras were seen in the area, and will be viewed by investigators as investigations continue.