Extension Officers to support rice farmers countrywide

-to ensure production surpasses 2020 harvest

– Minister Mustapha

Minister of Agriculture, Hon. Zulfikar Mustapha has said extension officers have been dispatched across the country to help low-yielding rice farmers enhance their production.

The Minister said this proactive approach by the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) is significant and must be commended, as the Government is working to double rice production over the next five years.

In an interview with DPI on Monday, Minister Mustapha said Guyana exported some 79,670 metric tonnes of rice valued at $6.7 billion (US$33,569,554) in April.

Notwithstanding the major setbacks caused by the inclement weather, the Minister said he is confident that this year’s production will surpass the total recorded in 2020.

Last year, Guyana produced some 1,050,000 metric tonnes of rice, raking in over $51 billion.  

Minister Mustapha said his Ministry will take every step to ensure that 2021 is an excellent and memorable harvesting year.

Over 87,000 hectares of rice have been harvested to date, producing over eight million bags or 520,842 metric tonnes of paddy, at an average yield of 5.92 tonnes per hectare.

The amount produced is expected to surpass the 2020 spring crop amount of over 535,000 metric tonnes.

“This crop we have seen 232,277 acres of rice were sown. Region Two is almost completed, almost 99.4 per cent of the amount harvested is completed. Region Six is progressing the slowest with 85.4 per cent of acreage completed.

We have seen the price for paddy range between $2,800 to $3,500 per bag at various mills around the country. The highest price was paid in Region Four and Five.”

The Minister said he is aware that some farmers have not yet harvested their crops, and will encounter serious challenges with the continuous rainfall.

In some cases, farmers have reaped their paddy, but due to the heavy machinery used to transport the produce, the dams have become impassable.

“Despite this, we will continue to see ways in which we can assist the farmers. We have our excavators and we will see to reconstruct those dams so the farmers can bring out their produce.

As a stakeholder, we will be working with these farmers. We are committed to see how we can help them because many farmers would have taken loans. We can probably assist them with seed paddy and things like that so that they can go back to their crop,” Minister Mustapha added.

The Ministry is also accelerating efforts to license rice mills countrywide. Some 33 of 40 mills, have already received permits.