…Guyana exports US$254M in rice, byproducts to 30 countries
Guyana’s rice sector broke records this year, with Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha revealing that 725,282 tonnes of rice was produced this year, continuing the sector’s upward trajectory since the People’s Progressive Party/Civic (PPP/C) Government’s return to office.
During his end of year press conference on Monday, Minister Mustapha reeled off the statistics associated with the sector. The increased overall production also came with an increased average national yield of over 6 tonnes per hectare.
“Under the PPP/C Government, we are seeing improvements in farmers investment in the rice industry in Guyana. With policies supported from the Government, there has been improved output and improvements in the ability of the country to compete in the world rice market. Due to continued improvement in rice varieties, production practices and milling efficiencies, Guyana continues to be a strong competitor in the world of export markets for rice.”
“Rice production reached a record high of 725,282 tonnes from January to December 2024. This is a record-breaking production, since the introduction of rice production in our country. We have surpassed the 700,000-tonne mark. With an average national yield of 6.6 tonnes per hectare, the highest ever recorded in the country’s history,” the Minister explained.
According to Mustapha, this constitutes an increase from the 5.7 tonnes per hectare yield in 2020 to the 6.6 tonnes this year. He further explained that there has been an incremental increase in rice production over the past four years- 559,789 tonnes in 2021; 610,595 tonnes in 2022 and 653,706 tonnes in 2023.
“We have exported 425,490 tonnes of rice and byproducts, to 30 countries, with a value of US$254 million from January to December. We have also seen a number of new markets, that we have captured,” the Minister further said.
These markets, Mustapha later detailed, included Angola on the South Atlantic Coast of West Africa and markets in Europe, which had been among Guyana’s targets for exports. Mustapha also explained that in the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary (MMA) development, rice cultivation forms the bulk of the land under cultivation.
“At the MMA we have a total of 150,000 acres of land… 100,000 under rice cultivation, 40,000 under livestock and another 10,000 in cash crop farming. We have close to 3000 farmers and the MMA has been working very aggressively in terms of cleaning and maintaining almost 15,000 kilometres (km) of channel, 150 kilometres of farm to market access road,” Mustapha related.
Another crucial area in which the Government has been supporting the industry, is through the provision of training. Mustapha revealed that over 5,000 farmers were trained by Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), in more efficient farming practices.
Then there are the new varieties of rice being developed, such as the GRDB-18 which has a yield potential of 7-9 tonnes per hectare, that was launched a few months ago. Mustapha explained that since 2020, three new varieties of rice were released.
“Also, we have seen increased capacity at our seed paddy facilities at various locations. We have seed paddy facilities at Burma, MMA, Black Bush Polder and #56, with a capacity to produce 152,000 bags per annum,” the Minister went on to explain.
Since 2020 farmers have also received subsidies in various aspects including fertiliser support from Government.
Only recently, the Agriculture Ministry secured a massive achievement when it was able to hand over to 29 farmers and 9 millers in Region Two, (Pomeroon-Supenaam), $437 million in money owed to them from rice exported to the Panama market over six years ago.
This payment formed part of the $1.5 billion recovered by the PPP/C Government to compensate farmers and millers affected by a flawed arrangement initiated in 2018 under the previous A Partnership for National Unity/Alliance For Change (APNU+AFC) Administration.
The Panama rice market was initially established in 2014 under the PPP/C Government, however in 2018 under the APNU/AFC arrangement, payments from Panama were delayed, plunging local rice millers into financial turmoil. This failure not only left farmers unpaid but also forced some millers out of business entirely.
This year, $1.3 billion was budgeted to be expended by the GRDB to support increased production and productivity of the rice industry. Farmers also benefited from the distribution of seed paddy and availability of more farmlands to increase yields, and a number of facilities have been built and upgraded to aid in the nation’s rice production. (G3)
