Even as oil continues to power Guyana’s rapid economic expansion, the country’s Chief Investment Officer, Dr. Peter Ramsaroop, says the government is aggressively positioning agriculture and agro-processing as major growth sectors, with both now benefiting from tax-free status under the 2026 national budget.
Ramsaroop said Guyana has always maintained a diversified economy and is now using revenues from the oil and gas sector to modernise and expand traditional industries, especially agriculture.
He said one of the most exciting measures announced this year is that agriculture and agro-processing have effectively become tax-free sectors.
“Agriculture and agro-processing are now a tax-free sector. Corporate taxes, zero. You can’t ask for better than that from a country,” Ramsaroop said.
He argued that the move creates a major opening for investors, especially at a time when the Caribbean continues to import billions of US dollars in food annually.
“The fact that the Caribbean imports US$68 billion worth of food, that is the sector we need to be concentrating on,” he said.
Ramsaroop noted that while many investors initially come to Guyana focused on opportunities in the oil and gas industry, they are increasingly discovering that the country’s diversification agenda offers room for investment across a range of sectors.
He said the government’s strategy is not to rely solely on petroleum revenues, but to use those resources to strengthen productive industries that can generate long-term value and wider economic participation.
“What we have used the oil money for was to modernise our known industries in agriculture,” he explained.
According to Ramsaroop, the government sees agriculture and agro-processing as central to broadening Guyana’s economic base, improving food production, and building export capacity.
He also pointed to the country’s President, Dr. Irfaan Ali’s wider diversification push, which includes opening up new sectors and encouraging investors to look beyond the traditional oil services market.
Ramsaroop said the country is entering a period in which oil wealth can help unlock opportunities in industries that have long been part of Guyana’s economic foundation but are now being retooled for greater competitiveness.
He maintained that the incentives being rolled out are aimed at making Guyana an attractive destination for investors seeking growth opportunities outside the oil sector.
