Local rice cereal launched at Guyexpo

Oct 07, 2014 News

A new rice cereal “Rice Brekkies” has been added to the local market through a collaborative effort with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Institute of Applied Science and Technology (IAST), and Ministries of Finance and Tourism, Industry and Commerce.
This new cereal is being produced right here in Guyana. It was unveiled Thursday evening at the launch of Guyexpo 2014, in the presence of President Donald Ramotar.
Acting Tourism Minister Irfaan Ali told the media that the project saw Government investing $75M. According to the Minister, this investment was in keeping with the delivery of a very important promise by President Ramotar, who had previously asked IAST to look at commercializing their technology after last year’s GuyExpo.
Last year the President expressed his desire to see more of what IAST is doing commercialized. The “Rice Brekkies” cereal, the first ever to be produced in Guyana will be marketed locally, regionally and internationally.
Dr. Suresh Narine, Head of IAST who was present at Thursday’s launch, told the media that the Institute has been making efforts to use technology to create value for Guyana’s natural resources and has been in resuscitation mode for the past 10 years. He added that this is the first of a series of commercialized products.
Narine said that the factory which is located in Region Two is capable of processing five tonnes of breakfast cereal per day. Narine said that he considers the product very nutritious. Market testing has already been done. Based on market findings, the product have been well received, Narine said.
Agriculture Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said the launch of the rice cereal is the very essence of transformation, and added that the Government and people of Guyana are moving away from just producing raw material.
Ramsammy said that they have embraced the concept of the value chain and adding value to what we produce. He noted that Guyana has always been known as a producer of good rice and we will continue to do that, adding different types of rice.
Minister Ramsammy further explained that the rice cereal will be fortified with additional vitamins and micro-nutrients in the near future. He added that it is another example of the transformation in Guyana.
“We will also be using rice products; rice husk and so on will be transformed into energy and stockfeed. Every part of an agriculture product will be utilized. We are transforming from where the rice industry not only produces rice, but waste into 100% meaningful and useful profitable products.”
Minister of Finance, Ashni Singh, who was also present, said that the new endeavour by the Government was catered for in the 2014 budget where $1 billion was earmarked to be used to promote entrepreneurial and innovative initiatives.
“I call on the private sector of Guyana to respond to the investments the Government is making in innovation. We would really like to see the private sector more involved in innovation,” Minister Singh said.
Singh said that very early government had recognized the need to diversify, the need to diversify the sources of economic growth, in particular to engage in value added production. This, he said, is why government continues to invest as much as they do, into attracting new investments and new centers. This project represents another installment in our efforts to diversify the sources of growth and promote value added production, the minister said.
He explained that the new initiative of cereal production is about creating a market for rice farmers and millers who have been investing significantly in the industry, thus, placing it in a position where it’s making record rice production.

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Local rice cereal launched at Guyexpo

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