Mohamed demands Govt. come clean on funds for rice subsidy

Jan 15, 2026 News

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(Kaieteur News) – Leader of We Invest in Nationhood (WIN) Azruddin Mohamed is challenging the government to come clean on the distribution of the funds for the $300 per bag of paddy subsidy, claiming that the numbers were not adding up.

“This message has to do with rice farmers, recent payout of 2.1 billion Guyana dollar subsidy of $300 per bag of paddy. This payout was done by Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, the WIN party, differs with the numbers paid out by Minister Zulfikar. Our research shows that agriculture minister as usual, inflate numbers which cannot be substantiated,” the party leader claimed on his Facebook page recently.

He explained that for the second crop of last year, the country cultivated 218,000 acres of rice land using a high average of 30 bags paddy per acre. According to his calculations this translates to 218,000 acres by 30 bags per acre being equal to 6,540,000 bags of paddy.

This is then multiplied by the subsidy at $300 per bag, which is equal to $1,962,000,000 versus the payout of $2.1 billion shows a significant variance of $138 million.

Questioning where the additional funds have vanished to, the businessman turned politician said, “This is how the PPP government continues to fill their pockets through corrupt transactions with the hard-working farmers’ moneys. Recently, I exposed the Minister Zulfikar, who is heading the rice farmers’ payout. The exposures were on the various mansions owned by Minister Zulfikar and his family. Up to this day, he cannot provide proof to show how he mustered those wealth in a very short time.”

It is in this regard, the WIN party is challenging the government, that if it wants to refute the number in the aim of transparency it should, produce the register of all the rice farmers in the country, alongside a breakdown farmer by farmer in every region with records and receipts of paddy supplied to millers.

“The information must be published to the public should the POP dispute WIN’s position. This analysis shows how moneys are being siphoned by the PPP government, enriching themselves and their families with you, the farmers, hardworking money,” he added.

However, in a statement to the media on Monday, the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) said that it categorically rejected the “reckless, malicious and wholly unfounded statements being peddled by Azruddin Mohamed regarding the 2025 second-crop paddy intervention.”

The organisation said Mohamed’s claims are not rooted in facts, but are of a political fictional nature which was, “constructed from ignorance of the rice industry, arrogance in presentation, and a deliberate attempt to mislead hardworking rice farmers and the wider public.”

In efforts to clear the air GRDB said that, “For the avoidance of doubt, rice farmers are not paid based on speculative acreage, imagined averages, or crude back-of-the-envelope calculations designed for political propaganda. Farmers are paid strictly on the actual verified number of bags of paddy delivered to licensed rice mills, a basic industry Mr. Mohamed has either failed to understand or has willfully chosen to misrepresent.”

Furthermore, the GRDB remains resolute that the payment process was clearly, transparently and exhaustively done, with every bag of paddy being paid for officially recorded and then cross checked with the farmer issued vouchers.

In a step further, the figures were verified farmer by farmer and not estimated, inflated or guessed, and it was only after all of this was done that the data was submitted to the Ministry. Subsequently funds were lawfully approved, and the cheques were then issued individually, with distribution commencing on January 7 in Region Five. Then the same process was conducted in Regions Two, Three, Four, and Six, the agency relayed.

“In light of these verifiable facts, Mr. Mohamed’s assertions can only be described as blatant falsehoods deliberately crafted to sow confusion and mischief. His public utterances reveal a profound lack of understanding of how the rice industry functions. This is most clearly demonstrated by his simplistic and erroneous attempt to multiply acreage by an arbitrary yield figure, an approach that exposes not only his ignorance, but his gross incompetence on the subject.

If Mr. Mohamed genuinely believes there were irregularities in the process, the Constitution of Guyana provides a clear and lawful avenue for redress: the Office of the Auditor General. Empty public accusations, unsupported by evidence, do not substitute for accountability,” the organization stressed.

GRDB is assuring that rice farmers were not deceived as they have received their cheques, and they understand they system. In addition, farmers have been openly expressing their appreciation for the government’s timely intervention, with the evidence of these testimonies being shared on social media.

Therefore, “The facts stand. And they continue to bury Mr. Mohamed’s falsehoods.”

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• Azruddin Mohamed, funds, rice, subsidy, We Invest in Nationhood

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