APNU says repeated bailouts show rice industry failing under Govt.

May 07, 2026 News

(Kaieteur News) – The A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) said the government’s repeated financial interventions in the rice sector are not signs of progress, but evidence of deeper failures in the management of the industry.

In a recent statement responding to the government’s latest cash handout to rice farmers, APNU said the administration continues to present the payouts as proof of good governance and concern for rice farmers. However, the opposition contends that the constant need for relief highlights longstanding unresolved problems within the sector.

“The fact that rice farmers have to be rescued, season after season, crop after crop, and year after year, is not proof of success. It is in itself proof that the PPP/C Government has failed to properly manage, strengthen and enhance the rice industry. When it rains and flooding occurs, it is a cash grant. When prices are not satisfactory, it is a bailout paid to the millers. When crops and markets are affected, it is a cash transfer. When the yield is low, it is another cash transfer. The government keeps plugging monies into an affected industry, but the government never fixes the problems,” APNU stated.

The party argued that every major challenge facing rice farmers has been met with temporary financial assistance rather than structural solutions.

According to the opposition, while billions continue to be injected into the industry, the core issues affecting rice production, pricing, drainage, irrigation, and market stability remain unresolved.

According to APNU, drainage and irrigation and pest and disease, along with soil nutrient deficiencies are yet to be addressed. The party said farm to market roads also have to be fixed.

The coalition said while the government continues playing politics, the rice industry is declining rapidly.

“Now this is where the matter becomes even more troubling… It is as if the PPP wants to keep rice farmers struggling so that they remain dependent on grants, subsidies and handouts instead of allowing the rice industry to become strong again and stand on its own,” APNU said.

According to the APNU, farmers, small businesses, entrepreneurs and vulnerable citizens must receive help when hardship occurs. However, it said when the government identifies certain groups or sectors for financial support, Guyanese have a right to ask whether there will be fair distribution, whether there will be transparency, and whether the rich will get more than the poor.

“Cash support must help people, help industries and help the non-oil economy. It must not become another political tool to hide government’s failure while the real problems remain unfixed. The APNU therefore warns against a continuation of this failed PPP approach of constantly plugging monies into struggling sectors rather than getting to the root causes and fixing the problems,” the party said.

Last week, President Irfaan Ali announced a $3 billion support package for rice farmers across Guyana.

Speaking to the media on the sidelines of an event held at the Arthur Chung Conference Centre (ACCC), he said farmers who have “above 50 acres will get $10,000 (and) below 50 acres $15,000 per acre. That is more than $4B in injection to support our rice farmers.”

Addressing the farmers at the meeting held at the ACCC, the president said that government has been making huge investments in the rice industry since its return to office in 2020, working to ensure that drainage and irrigation is improved and investing in research and development to improve yields.

He said over the next five years, there are plans to address the farm-to-market roads, and critical dams, which will allow farmers to continue their work under the different weather conditions and patterns.

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APNU, bailouts, PPP/C, rice sector

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