Rice export earnings was over $43 billion last year

Feb 10, 2022 News

---

– industry projected to see 25% growth

Kaieteur News – Despite the devastating economic effects of the unprecedented flooding last year and the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on international trade, Guyana’s rice exports still secured over $42B in earnings for 2021.

Motivated by this creditable performance in the face of such odds, the PPP/C Government said a series of new and improved initiatives are planned for 2022 that would push industry growth upward by 25 percent.
Speaking to some of the plans outlined for this year, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha said the primary focus will be on increased production and rebuilding the sector to improve profitability on a sustainable basis. Towards this end, he said plans are in the pipeline to plant 185,000 hectares that will produce 1,091,500 tonnes of paddy or 709,475 tonnes of rice.
Mustapha said there will also be increased attention to maintaining and expanding the marketing and trade of rice and its by-products locally and internationally. In this regard, Minister Mustapha said his ministry projects to export 86 percent of the rice production this year.
Further to this, the official said there will be increased research on new varieties and best practices together with quality seed production and mitigating losses due to pests and disease, certification of laboratories and mills will all contribute to this growth. By the autumn crop 2022, he said a new high-yielding candidate variety of paddy with excellent quality traits is expected to be identified and released in the autumn crop of 2024.
Minister Mustapha also recalled that in 2021, two new laboratories were established, the Value Added Laboratory and the soil Laboratory. For 2022, he said these laboratories will be equipped to make them functional in conducting soil analysis and research on rice base products. He said this work would be a critical layer to the increased research and innovation that is needed to boost yields.
Additionally, Minister Mustapha said an insectary will be constructed to facilitate study on the management of pests in the rice industry, especially the paddy bug, which limits the rice yield quantitatively and qualitatively, and causes the greatest economic loss. He said this is a crucial initiative as the paddy bug led to major losses in the second crop for 2021, which is estimated to be over $600 Million.

Kaieteur News understands that the government will also invest $49.5 Million for the provision and installation of pre-cleaner and rehabilitation of a seed paddy facility at Onverwaght in Region Five to increase seed paddy production from 9,000 to 50,000 bags per crop within the Mahaica Mahaicony Abary – Agricultural Development Authority benefitting thousands of rice farmers in that area.
Additionally, he noted that $20M has been set aside for the procurement of a seed dryer for Black Bush Polder which will benefit more than 600 rice farmers in the catchment area.
To ensure there is timely drying of paddy for over 200 farmers in Regions Two and Four as well, two drying floors will be constructed to complement the six such structures in Riverstown, Wakenaam, Cane Grove, De Hoop, Adventure and Lesbeholden.
Turning his attention to an exciting project to be launched this year, Minister Mustapha said citizens can look forward to seeing all the rice cultivation plots in Region Five being digitised. “This has never been done before. This technology will provide a more accurate representation of the acreage cultivated and a base for the monitoring and verification of rice production as it seeks to reduce future challenges and increase productivity. Real-time data will be generated and early advisory to farmers will be achieved, especially in the cases of disasters (floods and droughts),” the Minister explained.
Further to his efforts to use agriculture technology in modernising the sector, Mustapha was pleased to announce that a T20 drone will be purchased in 2022. In this regard, he noted that currently, manual spraying of plots is being carried out. Mustapha said this proves to be costly since sourcing the service is often times a challenge. Additionally, Mustapha said pesticides are applied unevenly across the fields during a manual process. With spraying done by drones, Mustapha said this provides more precise distribution of chemicals, is less costly and more likely to increase production yields.
Mustapha said, “These innovations and expenditures will certainly support the industry in achieving its targets and goals. I have said before that this government has been working to ensure that the rice industry remains an economic pillar in the agriculture sector while providing Guyanese with the important staple in their diet.”
He concluded, “In the short time, this government has been in office, we have been able to achieve that; imagine the possibilities for the next four years! The rice industry will continue to prosper given the initiatives we have outlined…”

 

 

---

---