Guyana, World Bank to advance AgriConnect initiative

June 16 2026 

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha on Monday met with members of the World Bank AgriConnect Mission Team to discuss the implementation of the initiative in Guyana and explore opportunities to further support the development of the country’s agriculture sector.

The mission team included Senior Agriculture Economists Eva Hasiner and Winston Dawes, along with Associate Investment Officer Andres Ramirez Salom.

During the engagement, Minister Mustapha reaffirmed the Ministry of Agriculture’s commitment to the successful implementation of the AgriConnect initiative, noting that Guyana is well positioned to benefit from the programme following its launch last year.

The minister highlighted logistics as a continuing challenge for both Guyana and the wider Caribbean region, while outlining a number of measures being pursued to improve access to financing for farmers.

Among these measures are plans for the establishment of the Guyana Development Bank and innovative partnerships aimed at connecting farmers who possess land and other assets with investors who have access to capital.

Mustapha also stressed the importance of stakeholder participation and support, noting that future consultations should clearly demonstrate the benefits that farmers, agribusinesses and other stakeholders can derive from the initiative.

AgriConnect is a World Bank Group programme designed to help 300 million smallholder farmers transition from subsistence farming to surplus production. The initiative seeks to transform smallholder agriculture into a driver of job creation, investment and resilience by improving farmers’ access to financing, technology, infrastructure and markets.