APNU says cheap fertiliser would help diversify GUYSUCO, increase agriculture output

Last Updated on Saturday, 28 June 2025, 12:10 by Writer

Locally-produced cheap fertiliser would be used as a key ingredient to diversify production of the ailing State-owned Guyana Sugar Corporation (GUYSUCO) if the People’s National Congress Reform (PNCR)-led A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) wins the September 1 general and regional elections, officials said on Friday.

The political party said it would prioritise the construction of a fertiliser plant and close the time gap between research results and commercial applications for the wider agricultural sector aimed at boosting food security.

“GUYSUCO and other agricultural areas can really benefit from low-cost fertiliser. That brings food prices down between 20 and 30 percent right off the bat,” APNU’s finance spokesman Elson Lowe told a news conference.

The US$759 million natural gas-fired electricity generation and natural gas liquids plants would provide the basis for fertiliser production. Already, the Guyana government and the private sector are mulling the construction of a US$1 billion fertiliser plant.

He said if GUYSUCO could tap into cheaper fertiliser that could lead to a boost in productivity and higher wages and salaries with the aim of improving the quality of standards of living. “We’re focussed not just on keeping GUYSUCO workers in the existing systems for political reasons but rather on looking at ways to improve their lives to move them forward in just the same as it pertains to the lives of all Guyanese,” Mr Lowe said.

APNU-PNCR Leader Aubrey Norton said his administration would diversify GUYSUCO’s portfolio by using its assets (such as its land and workforce) for new business ventures, including aquaculture, food crops, manufacturing, and housing development. Mr Norton said APNU’s main aim is to revitalize and refashion GUYSUCO into an entity with several viable and practical financial arms, including sugarcane production. “For us, therefore, GUYSUCO need not remain exclusively an agriculture-based entity. With investments in training and equipment, for instance, GUYSUCO can become one of the largest builders of homes and communities in Guyana,” he said.

The APNU-PNC Leader said much potential also exists for sugarcane to be used to produce not only raw and processed sugar but also ethanol, livestock feed, bagasse board, and the cogeneration of electricity. Asked about specific targets for a diversified sugar corporation, he said those would be outlined in its manifesto. APNU plans to launch its election campaign on July 6. “These opportunities need not await only private investors but can be ventures the state could undertake singularly or jointly,” he added.

With these reforms, a new GUYSUCO will attract more workers as compensation, job opportunities, and improve working conditions. Mr Norton said his party believes that GUYSUCO can become a net contributor to national revenues rather than a drain on the nation’s resources.

Turning his attention to the rice sector, Mr Norton promised that should APNU secure victory at the upcoming polls, the new administration would immediately address the critical challenges in the rice industry such as low yields, diseases, market availability, access to credit, lack of storage, competing land uses, unfair competition, and discriminatory practices.

He said the new government would build storage bonds and a fertilizer plant to provide cheap fertilizer that will directly and positively impact the industry. “We will address the three critical aspects of the industry: production, storage and distribution.”

Where necessary, he said an APNU-led administration will intervene and take part not only as the policy maker, but also as an investor, partner, purchaser, low-cost creditor, mediator, and guarantor.

He said a Norton-led government would keep abreast of international changes in the rice sector such as reforms, innovations, and investments to bring the sector into a new era of new techniques, higher yields, lower carbon emissions, and better nutrition.