GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – After record intake in 2024, Guyana is expecting nine million bags of paddy to be harvested in its first crop of this year, the country’s Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, has said.

In 2024, rice production in Guyana surpassed its target and reached an all-time high of 725,282 metric tonnes.

“As a government, we recognise the value of the rice industry, and that is why we’ve been making inputs available. For this crop the estimated amount of paddy to be harvested, is around 9,000,000 bags,” Mustapha told a meeting with rice farmers from the West Coast of Demerara recently.

“We removed the VAT (value added tax) from the inputs in agriculture. In two instances, fertiliser was procured and given to farmers. We are looking to rehabilitate and extend all of the seed facilities so that seeds can be available to farmers on a timelier basis with excellent varieties producing better yields.
“In the last four years, we have launched three new varieties. So, the support has been tremendous,” Mustapha said, telling the farmers that contrary to rumours on social media, negotiations between the millers and the government commenced weeks ago.

“The president engaged the millers on several occasions to determine how we can work together to keep the price of paddy at a stable rate. These negotiations didn’t happen overnight,” he said

“They began weeks ago. At one point, they were at a deadlock, and the president intervened and said we will ensure the farmers receive a minimum of GUY$4,000 for a bag of paddy. Every bag of paddy that the farmer sells to the mill, we have to contribute,” Mustapha said.

He said that the government has always engaged farmers and, when necessary, stepped in to ensure farmers receive a fair deal.

“The millers said they could not pay the GUY$4,000 per bag because of the current world market price and other factors. In order to come to an agreement, we had to contribute. We did it before, and we’ll do it again.”

“Like any other responsible government, we are always ensuring that we bring relief to people. The farmers know that this government, under the leadership of President Irfaan Ali, has and will always ensure farmers get a fair deal,” he said.

Mustapha also told the meeting that the ministry will explore procuring a Jaclo sprayer to assist farmers from the region with the application of chemicals, adding this would represent an investment of approximately GUY$6.5 million.