Guyana becomes 1st country in region to launch high-yield, zinc-enriched rice strain

– as rice production is projected to grow to 847,000 tonnes by 2025

Guyana has been able to develop and launch its own strain of bio-fortified rice, making it the first country to develop this particular rice strain that naturally stores zinc.
This has been accomplished through the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) with the assistance of regional and international partners.
The new rice strain was launched on Saturday during the ongoing Agri-Investment Forum and Expo being held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre at Liliendaal, Greater Georgetown.
During the expo, Prime Minister Brigadier (retired) Mark Phillips made it clear that this is just one manifestation of the Government’s efforts to boost food production with the ’25 by 2025’ goal in mind.
“Rice production in Guyana is projected to grow to 847,000 metric tonnes by 2025. The Government has made tremendous investments in improving the capability of the Guyana Rice Development Board to conduct research to keep the industry on its competitive edge. On an annual basis, our Government allocates over $300 million to promote production and productivity in the rice sector, including research and development, to improve yields. This includes the introduction of the bio-fortified variety we’re launching today,” the Prime Minister explained.

According to PM Phillips, the Research Scientists at GRDB are continuously working to find new varieties that improve rice productivity and increase the industry’s competitiveness. That is why rice fortified with zinc took prominence as a project, especially since zinc is an essential mineral the body needs but cannot produce on its own.
PM Phillips also explained that this variety of rice is not a genetically-modified organism (GMO), but was rather developed through conventional breeding methods. GMOs are usually developed through genetic engineering.
“Recognizing the importance of zinc in our daily lives, the GRDB, through a collaborative effort, developed a local-bred rice variety with high levels of zinc content in its grains, to satisfy this need,” the Prime Minister has said.
“The development of a rice strain that naturally stores higher levels of zinc in the grains, we now have zinc-enriched rice with 17 to 20 milligrams of zinc. Zinc is an essential mineral that we must have and utilize to support our immune system and cellular functions.”
Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha made it clear that this is a remarkable achievement, since Guyana is the only country launching the zinc-fortified variety of rice. Further, he noted that this would become a variety for the farmers to cultivate in the new crop.
“That will be an achievement for us, because you heard that zinc is now being grown in the rice. And that will be important, because the farmers in our country will have an opportunity also, with the cultivation of this variety, to enjoy preferential prices, because this variety will not get the same price we’re getting now for the varieties that are there,” he explained.
“This will be a high-yielding variety; I understand between six to eight tonnes per hectare. And if we could get that, that would be a tremendous achievement for us here in Guyana. Because when you look around the world today and the crisis in food production, a country like us, that is leading the charge in Caricom, this is the way to go,” he declared.
Mustapha noted that while farmers are improving in traditional areas, they are also venturing into new crops. He also expressed hope that as Guyana continues to develop new varieties of crops, the farmers can rise to the challenge of large-scale production thereof.
Guyana’s rice-producing capacity has grown to the point where, it was revealed in August, Guyana is helping Trinidad and Tobago develop its rice sector through technical support. During a telephone interview with this publication, Mustapha had said technical officers in Guyana are advising Trinidadian technical officers on the best practices used in order to grow rice successfully.
The Minister had also shared at the time that, about two months prior, Guyana had supplied Trinidad with some 100,000 tonnes of rice seed, which was distributed among local rice farmers in that country. (G-3)