Agri-Investment Forum and Expo concludes today

May 21, 2022 News

(from left) Dominica Prime Minister, Roosevelt Skerrit, Barbados Prime Minister, Mia Mottley, Prime Minister of Belize and Chairman of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), John Briceno, First Lady of Guyana, Arya Ali, Trinidad and Tobago Prime Minister, Keith Rowley, Deputy Prime Minister of Bahamas, Isaac Cooper, President of the Cooperative Republic of Guyana, Irfaan Ali and Premier of Montserrat, Joseph Farrell cut the ceremonial ribbon to open the agriculture exhibition at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre on Tursday.
The exhibition has over 200 booths with local and regional businesses present, to secure markets for their products. The expo will conclude today.

A few of the machines that were on display

A farmer brought fresh fruits and vegetables to the expo, all locally grown to attract potential sales

A student makes a purchase at a juice bar located at the exhibition

These students who were present for the opening of the Agri expo, with their teacher, took interest in the plants on display

These sweet peppers, grown in Guyana, were almost the size of a human fist

These beautiful ladies smiled as they marketed their products at the Arthur Chung Conference Center. They had a variety of items made in Guyana, including achars, green seasoning, pepper sauce and coconut oil among others.

In addition to fruits, vegetables and other edible goodies on sale, this farmer brought out some of his best flowers to woo visitors

Kaieteur News – The inaugural Regional Agri-Investment Forum and Expo will wind down today after four exciting days of discussions, negotiations and the likely formation of partnerships between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Member States.
Participating countries in this year’s event included Belize, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Trinidad and Tobago, Montserrat, Bahamas and the host country, Guyana.
More than 250 booths will be open for the remainder of the day, as local farmers and regional investors seek opportunities for business networking.
The forum was launched at the Natural Cultural Center, in Georgetown on Thursday and panel discussions were later hosted at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre, where the exhibit is also being held. The Heads of Government who were present also declared the expo open, after a simple ribbon cutting ceremony on Thursday afternoon.
The event was hosted under the theme ‘Investing in Vision 25 by 2025’ which seeks to reduce the regional food import bill by 25 percent by 2025 through fostering accelerated and targeted investment in agriculture and food production and its business ecosystem within CARICOM member states.
To this end, the agri-investment forum was specifically geared towards the promotion, engagement, and informed dialogue among key stakeholders along the agri-food value chain —policymakers, development partners, foreign and local private investors, farmers, distributers—on how investment could be encouraged. Stakeholders within the industry were able to exhibit their products and services, network with others both directly and indirectly affected by the industry and acquire high-level investment and marketing exposure.
The event was hosted by the Government of Guyana, through the Ministry of Agriculture, in collaboration with the Caricom Secretariat. A few of the sponsors included Genequip, Republic Bank and Cataleya Energy Limited.
Scenes from the opening of the Agri-Investment Expo