Dear Mr President,
I am sure you are familiar with consistent complaints on food prices – people simply cannot afford to feed themselves. Farmers are unable to grow enough food in spite of having the best arable land and appropriate climate in the land of unlimited waters. We have a blight in agriculture. Will you take appropriate steps to remove the blight and allow agriculture sector to prosper?
President Ali has presented agriculture as one of the pillars of national development, food security and economic diversification. Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has repeatedly highlighted tens of billions of dollars annually in spending since 2020, new infrastructure, support programs and other subsidies, expanded agricultural lands and plans to transform farming into a modern commercial enterprise. Yet there is an uncomfortable contradiction at the heart of the government’s agricultural record: the more officials talk about investment and transformation, the more ordinary consumers continue to complain about the cost of putting food on the table. World Bank says poverty rate in Guyana is 58%, a figure comparable to the worst years of the Burnham dictatorship during the 1980s. And the more government spends on agriculture, the less has been the production return.
That contradiction deserves serious public scrutiny. Who is responsible for the mess in agriculture in the country and what will government do about it? Guyana’s Bureau of Statistics reported (fudged numbers maybe) that food prices increased by only 8.1 percent over the twelve months to May 2026, while vegetables and vegetable products jumped 19 percent in May alone. Overall consumer prices rose 5 percent over the same twelve-month period. Mid-year reporting, food prices had risen by 6.7 percent during the first half of 2026. Those government released numbers are understated when one looks at real prices. Take one vegetable: Six bora is $500 (about US2.40). At the beginning of the year the same amount of bora was $400 (of just under US $2). Every food item went up by more than 25% from beginning of year and more than double since 2020; food affordability was better under APNU. Salary has not increased this year and went up by only 18% since 2020. Minimum wage is $60K monthly, enough to feed a family of four for two weeks without adding payment for rent or mortgage or buying fuel for a car. So salary increase is a mere fifth of the increase in food prices except for about 20% of the population who are direct beneficiaries of the state — Ministers and other ranking officials, some bureaucrats, those who get large state contracts (not the $2.5 million street cleaning contracts), those with fat salaries, and recipients of bribes. People’s income is severely lagging behind food price increases.
The President has attributed the increases in food prices to people eating out too much and buying fancy foods from popular fast-food outlets. The government stated that other factors for rising prices included imported inflation, stronger demand, retail markups, greedy middle men and farmers, and unfavourable weather. But explanation is not the same thing as resolution.
There is one common factor on declining production and rising costs of basic foods: Minister of Agriculture Mustapha. Since he became Minister in August 2020, agriculture sector has gone downhill. The more people plant, the less have been production. People complain about corruption over last six years. Food prices were better under APNU. No matter what the Ali government has done so far, with more than $40 billion in subsides, agriculture is not turning around. Mustapha has been the problem? He occupies the portfolio making him directly responsible for agricultural production. Why are government projects not producing measurable improvements for farmers and consumers. Why is Guyana not building an agricultural system that can stand on its own feet? Government spent over $250 billion on agriculture under Mustapha. Returns are poor! There is lack of accountability. Mustn’t Mustapha be held responsible!
There is something inherently wrong when domestic supply is insufficient to meet demand when Guyana is touted as feeding itself.
Ali and Mustapha have acknowledged some of the sector’s problems and are credited for pursuing measures ranging from farm support to poultry interventions and infrastructure. But there is need for accountability of money spent. There are reports that the Minister’s kin have tens of billions in contracts. Shouldn’t he and family members be brought to account? Aren’t there enough mansions and business deals with state contracts, lack of accountability, and non-performance?
Mr. President, you stated two weeks ago that you want Guyana to be the most powerful food producer globally. Agriculture under Mustapha has failed. Please do needful and remove the blight in our agriculture industry. Only u and the VP can remove the blight! Please save agriculture and help the poor to afford food!
Yours truly,
Sharmila Ally
