Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha has called for the implementation of modern farming practices amid the country’s rapid agricultural growth. The minister made this call on Sunday during a community meeting at No. 63 Village in Region Six.
During his remarks, the minister made reference to Region Three (Essequibo Islands-West Demerara) one of Guyana’s leading regions in cassava production. He noted that that region’s crop production has increased significantly due to the implementation of a high yielding variety of cassava.
“In Region Three, you have a dominance of cassava. We are purchasing the cassava and sending it to the interior. The farmers there now increase the yield from the cassava from 18 tons per hectare to 30 tons because of the high-yielding variety that we have,” he stated.
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha
This year a new variety of high-yielding cassava was introduced to farmers. This new variety has doubled cassava production, increasing the yield per hectare from 15 tonnes to 30 tonnes.
Moreover, the minister revealed that the Ministry is working to introduce another type of bio-fortified rice to bolster production.
“By next year, we will bring out a new variety of rice. We have a bio-fortified variety that we have launched with IICA. I think you all should take advantage and plant that, because zinc is being grown in that rice. That will be a very lucrative variety. We can get preferential price for those paddies,” he stated.
On this point, the minister noted that with Guyana on the path of becoming one of the largest food exporters in the Caribbean, farmers would have to adopt modern techniques to keep up with the supply demand of the market.
“You have to think outside the box. We can’t continue to do the same thing over and over. Let us change the way we do things. Let us make agriculture more modern. Let us make it more resilient, and we have to work together to form that partnership,” the minister stated.
Benefits of bio-fortified crops
Meanwhile, earlier this month, it was reported by the minister that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) had surpassed its half-year rice production goal for 2024.
“We have seen production increase every single year. For example, in 2022, we had a production of 610,000 tonnes of rice that we produced. In 2023, that increased to 653,710 (tonnes), and this year our target is 710000 tons of rice for the first half of the year. We have already achieved our target, surpassed our target, and we achieved a production of 362,030 metric tonnes,” he said.
The minister note that this target was achieved through various initiatives employed, particularly implementation of several varieties of bio-fortified rice. Over the past few years, the Ministry of Agriculture and the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) have introduced a total of 9 high-yielding varieties of rice that have been released for commercial production.
These new varieties have significantly boosted the productivity and sustainability of the rice industry.
The exploration of new rice varieties and export markets aligns with the Government’s commitment to advancing the agricultural sector and ensuring sustainable development.
In 2023, the rice sector recorded a seven per cent increase with a production of 653,706 metric tonnes. This signifies an increase of 43,111 metric tonnes in 2023, as compared to 610,595 in 2022. Guyana earned approximately $45.2 billion in exports in 2023, over $3 billion more than in 2022.
Due to the adaptation of modern farming practices in the rice sector, a total of US$127 million in revenue has already been recorded for the year.
