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$430M budgeted for rice sector outside of fertilizer support
—12.4% growth expected this year-Minister Singh
Kaieteur News- Outside of fertilizer support, the rice growing sector can expect an allocation of $430M from the 2025 national budget.
Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh told the National Assembly on Friday that for last year, the sector saw what he terms as a ‘strong expansion’ of an estimated 9.3%, with the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) reporting rice production at 725,282 metric tonnes, compared with 653,706 metric tonnes a year prior.
The sector’s performance was widely attributed “to better yields, which improved to 6.6 metric tonnes per hectare in 2024 from 6.3 metric tonnes per hectare in 2023, with some producing regions having yields averaging above 7 metric tonnes per hectare.”
$430M budgeted for rice sector outside of fertilizer support
The minister said that, “In 2025, investments will expand storage capacity at No. 56 Seed Facility and extend precision agriculture technology to farmers, including specialised broadcast equipment to improve efficiency in crop management.
Not including fertiliser support, the government contributed an amount of $524 million to the industry in 2024 and has budgeted $430.9 million for 2025.”
Based on the performance last year, it is expected that the sector will continue on its’ upward path, and should grow by an additional 12.4% this year.
The industry’s target for 2025 is 840,000 metric tonnes, and this is supported by “a ramp up in acreage cultivated, and continued focus on deploying new and more productive varieties, and enhancing research and development,” he said.
The industry has done well despite the mid-year report for 2024 revealing that the Guyana Rice Development Board (GDRB) has estimated $4 billion in losses from paddy bugs, as a result of higher temperatures at the end of the first crop of 2024 as reported by this publication on September 04 last year.
The $4billion loss GRDB estimated was a result of 10-25 percent paddy bug infestation in paddy delivered to mills.
“This was alarming when compared to an estimated infestation 10 percent in 2023,” the report said while highlighting that climate change has been a major factor given the increasing global temperatures.
The agriculture sector, which accounts for about 23 percent of the non-oil Gross Domestic Product (GDP), is most prone to climate related risks; however, key industries have invested to expand production to remain viable.
“In rice, we are advancing research in climate-smart varieties to respond to drought, flood and saline conditions,” the report stated. Globally, the challenges for rice production vary from insects, pests, diseases and weeds, which increased due to the shift of precipitation and temperature.
The government noted in the report that chemical options are being used until research and development of appropriate biocontrol agents are completed for application during the second crop.
($430M budgeted for rice sector outside of fertilizer support)
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