New bio-fortified rice variety to be ready for local and international markets in 2022

Oct 04, 2021 News

The new bio-fortified rice that is set to hit the markets soon.

Kaieteur News – The Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) has collaborated with the Inter-American Institute for Corporation on agriculture to develop a bio-fortified rice variety with nutritionally enhanced zinc. The new candidate of rice is expected to hit the markets in mid next year. This is according to Agriculture Minister Zulfikar Mustapha during a visit to the NAREI/GRDB Research Station at Lesbeholden, Black Bush Polder, Region Six on Saturday.
The officials visited the facility to witness the harvesting of the candidate variety that is currently under trial at four locations in the rice producing regions. Minister Mustapha said that the results seen during the trial so far were favourable.
“This here is the second trial, the last one we did was I think Burma Rice Research Station and we are here but we also came with a thresher that was donated by IICA. I am very elated to know that very shortly, we will have a blended variety that farmers will use extensively across the country. This here is a different rice from the other rice that the farmers usually plant, in terms of health wise, it has a lot of zinc in it,” the Minister said.
He stated that health wise, the new variety of rice will be good for persons suffering from Diabetes, persons with heart condition, etc.
“When we export this crop of rice, this will attract preferential prices. So I am moving at the next trial, we will have one more trial and next year maybe we can have it as a candidate variety so that we can start to plant it right across the country,” Mustapha said.

The new rice thresher in operation Saturday.

The Minister noted that once the rice hits the local market, he is confident that it will also be exported to the various countries in the Caribbean and with the interest already expressed in the new type of rice. “I am very optimistic that the results that I am seeing here today both healthwise and economically and also the resilience of the rice itself in terms of withstanding the condition that we have in our country. This plot that we are harvesting here today, it was in the water for almost 3 weeks and when the water receded with this result here. It showed a lot of resilience and I am very optimistic.” Currently, one acre is being cultivated at Lesbeholden and there are other trials ongoing in Regions 5, 3 and 2 currently.
The Agriculture Minister has said that what is being executed fits into the President’s agenda to improve and enhance the agriculture food system.
Shaun Bough, from CARICOM who also visited with the Minister on Saturday in Black Bush Polder, noted that, “it is innovations and partnerships just like this that we want to promote. Guyana is well suited, certainly for rice production to demonstrate to the region and possibly the world. What we are seeing here with this bio fortified project is a response to food security need, a response to climate change and a response to our consumers and our farmers.”
Meanwhile, the IICA handed over a rice thresher machine and was put into operation on Saturday to demonstrate the process. It was procured at a cost of $1M (Guy). The Minister also visited the NAREI plant nursery and the seed drying facility at the said location.