Agricultural expansion to see 40 new drainage pumps, improved sluices in 2026

The Ministry of Agriculture plans to install 40 new drainage pumps and construct and revamp approximately 63 sluices in 202 to ensure thousands of farmers, fisherfolk, and agro-processors benefit from new and improved infrastructure.

Minister Mustapha announced the plans during a recent Starting Point Podcast, where he underscored the scale of the transformation underway, given the historic $113.2 billion allocated to the agriculture sector in Budget 2026

“The agriculture budget stood at $18.5 billion in 2015. When we returned to office in 2020, it had fallen to $13 billion. Today, it is $113.2 billion,” the minister stated. “You could see the transformation that has taken place in the agriculture sector, and that is why we are seeing the increases over the years.”

The increased allocation is directly tied to tangible improvements in farmers’ productivity and incomes, and a significant portion of the budget targets drainage and irrigation, which have been long-standing challenges for coastal and riverine communities.

This year, the government also plans to:

• Expand high-level canals in Regions Five and Six
• Clear thousands of rods of canals
• Develop new farm-to-market access roads

For rice farmers, these upgrades mean reduced crop losses during heavy rainfall, better water management during dry spells, and quicker transportation of produce to mills and markets.

Minister Mustapha said the agriculture sector has already recorded record-breaking output.

In 2024, Guyana produced 725,000 tonnes of rice. In 2025, production rose to 810,000 tonnes, with yields increasing from five tonnes per hectare to 6.6 tonnes per hectare.

These gains, the minister explained, are directly linked to the government’s investments in infrastructure and support measures.

“This is why we are seeing the transformation because the money that we are expending in the agriculture sector is going directly to the farmers.”

With fluctuating global paddy prices affecting farmers’ earnings, the government intervened to provide farmers with one bag of fertiliser per acre in 2025, amounting to nearly $2 billion in subsidies.

Additionally, the government contributed $300 per bag of paddy sold, injecting an estimated $1.5 billion into the rice industry.

“As a responsible government, we didn’t throw up our hands in the air and say that is a private business, that is between you and the farmers. We said we’ll work with you,” Minister Mutapha stated.

The sugar industry, long considered a backbone of Guyana’s economic history, has also been prioritised with an allocation of $13.4 billion that will support factory rehabilitation, mechanisation, and management restructuring at GuySuCo.

“We already mechanised 41 per cent of the cultivations, and I am hoping that this year we can increase that to 50 per cent and continue it. As long as we mechanise the industry, I think we’ll have better harvesting,” he said.

This shift is expected to address labour shortages, improve efficiency, and reduce post-harvest losses, further safeguarding the livelihoods of thousands of sugar workers and their families.

For communities that depend almost entirely on agriculture, these investments translate into food security, stronger household incomes, and greater economic confidence.

Minister Mustapha believes the sector’s transformation is real, shown by higher yields, better infrastructure, and stronger regional leadership.