As Guyana gets ready to host the first ever Agri Investment Forum and Expo, some 550 delegates and 250 exhibitors have registered to attend the three day event slated to be held at the Arthur Chung Convention Centre .
The Agri Investment Forum and Expo will kick off on Thursday May 19, 2022 with the opening ceremony being held at the National Cultural Centre. The Exposition will then be opened immediately after the ceremony to the public from 14:00 hours to 19:00 hours on Day one.
Also on in the afternoon of Day 1 there will be a Donor Roundtable, with 12 Donors expected to participate.
Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha said over 35 foreign exhibitors from the USA, JAMAICA, Trinidad and Tobago, Ghana and Barbados have registered.
“62 local agro-processors will be represented. They will showcase diverse quality agricultural products, supporting systems and the vast potential to reduce the regional food import bill and the realization of the 25 by 2025 programme," he said. On day two of the exposition, potential investors and other stakeholders will discuss on new and emerging opportunities in CARICOM agriculture.
There will be matching of bankable agricultural projects with available private and public financing and a Plenery on Advancing the Agri-Food System Agenda.
And on the final day of the expo, Minister Mustapha said it will be focused on youth and gender.
The expo which will be the largest gathering of leaders and potential investors seeks to encourage investment in various agriculture projects across the Caribbean.
This event is being held under the theme “Investing in Vision 25 by 2025” in collaboration with the CARICOM Secretariat.
“With a US $6 billion regional food import bill, increased investment in agriculture and food production is extremely vital to achieve the 25% food import reduction target by 2025,” the Agriculture Minister said.
