During Tuesday’s examination of the 2026 budget estimates, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha defended the government’s continued financial support for the Guyana Sugar Corporation (GuySuCo).

He asserted that the five-year strategic plan is already moving the company toward profitability.

The $13.4 Billion allocation to GuySuCo came under intense scrutiny in the Committee of Supply.

Opposition MP Saiku Andrews questioned whether continued state support for the sugar industry is delivering results.

In response, Minister Mustapha said the five-year plan, which has been presented in the National Assembly, is designed to transform GuySuCo’s operations and return the corporation to profitability by 2030.

The minister expressed optimism about achieving that goal, noting that progress is already being made.

“Over 41 percent of GuySuCo’S cultivation has already been mechanised. In that plan, you will see new machinery being bought for the next five years. That’s the objective,” he said.

Mustapha also referenced the challenges faced by the corporation prior to 2020, including estate closures and workforce displacement, which he said continue to affect production costs.

“We made a commitment to the people of this country when we went to the elections in 2020, that we will try as much as possible to reopen closed sugar estates. We did in some areas, and we had to employ people in some of those estates that are still shuttered. Places like Enmore, and Skeldon, where we have over 200 workers there…and those are the factors that are sending up the cost of production,” he said.

However, the Minister said the government is taking steps to modernize the corporation, strengthen management accountability, and improve overall performance.

“And we are working to modernise the corporation. We are looking at the performance of management, meeting with them regularly. And we will ensure that the strategic plan of GuySuCo is successful and GuySuCo can return to profitability in 2030.”