Phillip Blumberg, chairman of mega American company Blumberg Grain & Logistics, announced on July 9 that Guyana will be the company’s central regional hub for food insecurity and agriculture development in South America and expressed confidence in President Irfaan Ali’s vision for farming in the Republic.

The historic signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Blumberg in the boardroom of the Ministry of Agriculture in the presence of the U.S. Ambassador to Guyana, Nicole Theriot, Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha, and Minister of Finance Ashni Singh is a collaboration on the marketing and branding of the regional food hub currently under construction at Yarrowkabra, on the Soesdyke-Linden Highway.

“I am very focused on investment in Guyana. President Ali is a great advocate for this country’s emergence as the most food-secure country in the world. There’s much to do here,” said Blumberg, during the press conference, adding.

“President Ali wants a food hub, and Minister Mustapha has reinforced that Guyana will serve not just this country, but Caricom and parts of Northern South America. We’re prepared to join them in that effort to create a significant regional hub. My confidence in the president’s vision for this country allows me to make an announcement here today that I have not made publicly, said Blumberg, adding that he will set up the Blumberg Grain hub, complete with staff.

“President Ali and Minister Zulfikar Mustapha made it very clear what their goals were. My business takes me to many countries around the world and visits with heads of state and ministers of agriculture, and I must say, you have an excellent team here in Guyana.”

He added that President Ali’s vision, Minister Mustapha’s implementation, and the Minister of Finance’s ability to help get things done while working with his team have provided great information.”

“Our company’s goals here in Guyana are to reduce post-harvest loss. While Guyana is a self-sufficient country, we can reduce the loss farmers sustain from their fields to market. This will not only increase the exportable products in the agriculture sector, but we will also focus on CARICOM and Northern South America as we make our investments. That means more income will go to farmers if there’s a more marketable quality of agricultural goods. It’s a better world for your farmers, and our farmers,” said Blumberg.

Minister Mustapha applauded Guyana’s transformational progress since 2020. He said Guyana is the only country in the world that can feed its citizens.

“That is a tremendous achievement for us because when we started in 2020, we saw a sector that was run down; Guyana had lost its place in CARICOM. Today, under the visionary leadership of President Irfaan Ali, Guyana is leading the food security agenda in the region,” said the Minister.

Blumberg Grain, which works closely with governmental authorities on the state, national, and international levels, aims to invest not only in Guyana but also in the South American region, where there has been a discussion on rice, meat, and poultry.

The agreement lays the foundation for integrating modern marketing strategies and branding mechanisms to expand Guyana’s agricultural exports, reduce post-harvest losses, and secure a more substantial presence in the CARICOM and South American markets.

“I’m absolutely thrilled to be here today to witness this partnership — the first step in an incredibly important collaboration between Bloomberg Grain and the visionary Government of Guyana. President Ali told me from the beginning that food security is a top priority. This deal goes beyond CARICOM. It has the potential to change lives across the entire region, and I’m proud this partnership involves a US company,” Ambassador Theriot said.

 “The reality is we’re prepared to invest in processing on our account, of Guyana’s agricultural products. That means a higher value to farmers and an easier way to export. The president challenged us with creating a brand that can be exported to the US on a very large market,” said Blumberg.

According to www.blumbergpartners.com, Blumberg Grain’s expansion efforts include deploying food security and grain storage logistics platforms (warehouses and silos), cold chain technology with controlled atmosphere, creating strategic stockpiles for nations in need of further food security, and developing process facilities in-country to add value to domestic crops, production, and export products.