– Says women, youth leading agriculture growth

-by Jordan Alkins

Agriculture Month 2026 was launched today under the theme “Innovate, Nourish, Grow: Building a Strong and Sustainable Guyana.” 

At the launch, Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha highlighted the growing role of women and youths in farming, agro-processing and agricultural innovation.

Walk through the agro-processing sector, the classrooms of the Guyana School of Agriculture, or a hydroponics facility today, and you will see the same thing: women and young people are no longer on the sidelines of agriculture. They are driving it.

Speaking at the launch of Agriculture Month 2026 Minister Mustapha said Guyana is growing and so is the agriculture sector, bringing more opportunities, more jobs and higher productivity, the empowerment of women, more young people drawn into farming, and stronger rural communities.

“Remember, we were mandated by His Excellency the President that all projects under the Ministry of Agriculture must include a minimum of 35 per cent young women and youth. And we have not only achieved that, we have increased it, because when you look around our country today, more and more women are involved in agriculture,” he explained.
The Minister pointed to the agri-processing sector, where more than 4,000 products are now coming to the market, and almost 90 percent of participants are women.

“Young people who would have passed through the Guyana School of Agriculture, the University of Guyana. Today, they are actively involved in agriculture. They are making their livelihood through agriculture. Before, they were just clerical workers. Look at the Agriculture Innovation Entrepreneurship Program that we started. Hundreds of young people are involved in that program, the hydrophonics program that we have in Regions 2, 5, and 10. All these facilities are being made available for young people,” he said.

Agriculture Month will feature a full calendar of activities, including weekly farmers market, the inaugural Farmers Conference, the annual Honeyfest, World Food Day and more.

As Agriculture Month 2026 gets under way, the message from Government is clear – with innovation, opportunity and stronger rural communities, the sector is on course to nourish the nation, and women and youth will continue to lead the way.