Read Here: Some significant aspects of President Irfaan Ali’s visit for Agro Fest in Barbados

Barbados: President of Guyana Irfaan Ali conducted a tour in Barbados for the two-day Agro Fest 2022, which was scheduled from May 28-29 at Queen’s Park in Bridgetown. He was also delivered the keynote address at the event’s opening ceremony.  

Dr Irfaan Ali received a guard of honour upon his arrival at the Grantley Adams International Airport in Barbados and was also welcomed by the Minister of Agriculture and Food Security, Indar Weir.

President Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, following the official launch of Agrofest 2022, also spent some time mingling with the public, including several Guyanese who live on the island. 

Dr Irfaan Ali and Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley officially commissioned a large water catchment—the Brown’s Pond Catchment— in St Philip in Barbados, where President Ali praised Prime Minister Mottley for having the “forward-thinking vision” to invest in the “transformative project” that will increase the productivity of farmers and enhance their ability to be sustainable while Barbados and the Caribbean move towards food security.

The pond has the capacity to store more than six million gallons of stormwater and will provide water to farmers during periods of drought.

President Ali and Prime Minister Mottley also cut the ceremonial ribbon and unveiled a plaque.

Minister of Agriculture of Guyana Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond and other government officials were also at the event.

 Dr Irfaan Ali and his delegation were also taken on a site visit of the proposed area in Lears, St Michael, where the Guyana-Barbados Food Terminal will be constructed. 

The site visit was led by the Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley.

When completed, the food terminal would be able to store more than 40 containers of food and will also be equipped with a processing and packaging plant, as well as cold storage facilities for seafood, and packaging and processing plants. The area will also have a large reservoir for water storage and land set aside for crop production.

Barbados Minister of Agriculture, Food & Nutritional Security, Indar Weir, and other technical officers from both countries were also present.

In the address in Barbados, Dr Irfaan Ali stressed that Guyana is committed to helping Barbados improve its food infrastructure and value chain in his feature address yesterday at the opening ceremony of Agrofest in Barbados.

President Ali also noted that the ever-improving relationship between the two Caribbean nations aims to bring economic prosperity and food security to the people of both countries.

More than 150 Guyanese and more than 45 Guyanese companies are participating in the 18th Barbados Agrofest in Queen’s Park, Bridgetown.

After the opening ceremony, President Ali and Prime Minister of the Republic of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, toured the exhibition and interacted with exhibitors.

Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha; Minister of Tourism, Industry and Commerce, Oneidge Walrond and other government officials also joined the Head of State at the event.

Several high-level representatives from other Caribbean nations were also present.

 Dr Irfaan Ali attended a meeting with the Prime Minister Mia Amor Mottley, at Ilaro Court— the Prime Minister’s official residence.

Prime Minister Mottley was joined by the Minister of Tourism and International Transport, Lisa Cummins and the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Dale Marshall.

Also attending the meeting was the Chairman of the kENUP Foundation, Holm Keller.

The kENUP Foundation is a non-profit public benefit foundation that supports research-based innovation in the wider health industries.

Check out: Glimpse of visit of President Irfaan Ali at various sites in Barbados