Guyana’s agriculture sector is rapidly diversifying beyond traditional crops, with strong government support for high-value commodities such as coconut, spices, and citrus.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha says these industries are at the heart of efforts to transform rural livelihoods and increase farmers’ incomes, positioning Guyana as a regional leader in value-added production and food security.

In Budget 2026, the government has made a major push to expand high-value crop production, prioritizing increased cultivation, improved access to planting materials and the development of modern processing facilities across the country.

The minister noted that coconut production continues to expand, with millions allocated to support the industry’s growth, strengthen local consumption and boost export potential.

“Coconut has been a very important commodity. $195 million have been allocated to expand coconut cultivation, and we are hoping that we’ll expand it by almost 5,000 acres. As I said, in 2025, we expand over 2,000 acres of coconut. And as I said, we want to double that, and we will continue to distribute high yielding seedlings and construct modern facilities for processing coconut waste,” Minister Mustapha stated.

Spice cultivation, particularly in Region One, skyrocketed—growing from 85 acres in 2020 to more than 4,800 acres in 2025, supported by new processing facilities at Hosororo and Port Kaituma.

In 2025 alone, 54,909 kilogrammes of turmeric were processed and sold locally, helping reduce imports.

“We will continue to expand our spice cultivation through the distribution of planting materials (18:10) and farmer training to boost production and reduce imports,” he added.

Citrus production is also surging, with more than eleven hundred farmers receiving over forty-three thousand saplings, including oranges, tangerines, limes and lemons.

Additionally, over 1000 farmers trained in horticulture techniques, backed by government-supported propagation of mixed orchard crops, such as citrus, passion fruit, soursop, cherries, guava, and pineapple.