GEORGETOWN, Guyana (CMC) – The Guyana government says it has injected more than GUY$7.2 billion (One Guyana dollar=US$0.004 cents) in the rice industry so far this year to cushion farmers against a decline in global prices, improve yields, and reduce production costs.

Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, speaking with rice farmers in Region Three over the last weekend, said the country is set to produce an estimated nine million bags of paddy for the second crop of 2025.

Mustapha told farmers that the target had been achieved through increased investment in new rice varieties and strong government support, reminding farmers that the government recently announced an initiative of a GUY$300 payment per bag of paddy sold, totalling GUY$2.7 billion, to offset lower earnings caused by a global surplus.

He said that this comes on top of previous fertiliser distributions and cash support programmes that brought total direct government contributions to over seven billion dollars  for the year.

Mustapha said that Guyana’s national rice yield has increased from 5.4 tons per hectare before 2020 to between 6.5 and 6.8 tons, with the intention of reaching seven to eight tons per hectare in the future.

He said that the next major focus will be on reducing the cost of production, which he described as the biggest threat to long-term survival in a competitive global market.

In addition to subsidies and support measures, the government is advancing major infrastructural works to modernise the drainage and irrigation (D&I) network, including the construction of a Hope-like Canal in Region Three, rehabilitation of 63 sluices, and the installation of new pump stations to reduce flood risks.

“We have a project that we call the CARes programme, that we are working now to rehabilitate 63 sluices, and you are in the first tranche, and your region will benefit from a number of those sluices.”

“We want a modern DNI sector that you will not be flooded out when it rains heavily,” Mustapha said, outlining initiatives to diversify production through expanded coconut cultivation and ongoing discussions to secure new export markets in Mexico, Qatar, and Saudi Arabia, alongside traditional buyers in Europe.

He said that the Ministry of Agriculture is moving to address high land rental fees, especially from absentee leaseholders, under reforms guided by the Rice Act to make land access more affordable for active farmers.