Above: producing farine in Guyana

By the Caribbean Journal staff

Guyana is looking to the cassava sector for what the government believes could be a “substantial economic contribution.”

The government is particularly eyeing the cassava byproduct of farine, a flour-like substance.

Agriculture Minister Dr Leslie Ramsammy says the government is planning a “full-phased factory” to process farine in the country’s Region Nine.

“I am happy to report that the Guyana farine which is almost exclusively produced in the hinterland is becoming popular outside of our borders,” Ramsammy said this week. “Whilst Brazil, for example produces it own farine, Guyana’s farine is becoming a niche market in Brazil.”

Production of farine is typically done by women in Guyana’s hinterlands, doing much of the harvesting and cleaning by hand.

Ultimately, Ramsammy says, the aim is to move the crop’s production from a subsistence level “to an actual industry.”