Suriname’s President Jennifer Simons is set to travel to Brazil this month alongside a government delegation, where she will hold high-level talks with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva focused on expanding cross-border partnership in agriculture, securing foreign investment for Suriname’s water management systems, and advancing the development of the South American nation’s agrarian infrastructure.
For the Simons administration, advancing food security, growing agricultural export volumes, and modernizing the country’s farming sector sit at the top of its policy priorities, the Surinamese leader confirmed. In comments shared through her spokesperson Roberto Lindveld, Simons emphasized that since her administration took office, agricultural development has been positioned as a central pillar of national governance. When the new leadership of Suriname’s Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Fisheries (LVV) assumed their posts, they inherited a sector riddled with systemic challenges, she added.
“When we took office, the entire ministry was facing widespread problems. Multiple senior directors had to be detained, critical agricultural machinery was absent, and dysfunction affected nearly every part of the department,” Simons stated. Stabilizing the troubled sector required extensive time and effort, but Simons noted that multiple key agricultural development initiatives are now gaining momentum. One early success she highlighted is the recently launched Markoesa Outgrowers project, which marks the first visible progress after months of administrative and structural reform.
A core focus of Suriname’s broader agricultural modernization push is the overhaul of water infrastructure in the western district of Nickerie, a key agricultural region for the country. Simons singled out the full replacement of the aging Wakay water pumps and the comprehensive upgrading of the district’s entire water management network as a flagship infrastructure project.
“My administration is committed to delivering this project. Right now, my team and I are working through details with potential financiers and the relevant minister to finalize all planning,” Simons explained. She added that technical design work for the initiative is on track to be completed within roughly one month. Once blueprints are finalized, the tender process will open for contracts including the procurement of new pumping equipment and other critical infrastructure components.
To ensure the project is delivered to global standards, Simons confirmed that both local specialists and international experts will be brought in to support implementation. The Surinamese president specifically highlighted plans to leverage Dutch expertise in water management, a field where the Netherlands has decades of global leadership.
“We know the Netherlands is a global leader in water management, and its specialists have deep, proven expertise in these types of infrastructure projects,” Simons said. “That is why we are working to assemble mixed teams of local and international experts to bring the best possible knowledge to advise us on this work.” Simons set an ambitious timeline, expressing her expectation that the upgraded water infrastructure in Nickerie will be fully completed within 18 to 24 months.
After the infrastructure overhaul is finished, the Simons administration plans to introduce reforms to Suriname’s water board legislation. The proposed regulatory changes will require system users to contribute to the ongoing maintenance of the upgraded water networks, ensuring long-term functionality. “Right now, the existing infrastructure has been severely neglected, so our first step is to get it back into working order before we implement the new maintenance framework,” Simons noted.