‘Your best days are ahead of you’ -President Ali tells Hague farmers – Guyana Chronicle

-outlines government’s plans to explore new markets for rice, reduce input costs, increase profits, push value-added products

WITH Guyana focusing on expanding its rice production, the government is actively exploring new markets and is aiming to produce a wider range of value-added rice-based products.

This is according to President, Dr Irfaan Ali, who on Sunday engaged several farmers and residents at an impromptu meeting at Hague Back, West Coast Demerara, Region Three.

There, he revealed that the government is actively engaging with partners from the Middle East to unlock potential markets for Guyana’s rice.

Additionally, it was disclosed that the government has already made a commitment to invest in a fertiliser plant with the goal of supporting farmers country wide.

“We want to invest in a fertiliser plant so that we’ll bring down the cost of fertiliser for the farmers. So, there are better days far ahead of you when you will get cheaper fertiliser made right here in Guyana,” President Ali told the large gathering as he outlined massive plans to not only boost agricultural production, but also create a sustainable landscape for rice farmers and every other agricultural stakeholder.

“We also have to invest more here, so that we had to have more value-added production from the rice. With the cost of electricity coming down, you have to have more rice-based products, cereals and all of these things that is [sic] important.”

He noted that with more breweries coming into the country, further exploring the valued-added market could add to an increase in local consumption.

“We want production to expand. We want production to get to a million tonnes, and we are also working on ensuring that your input cost comes down, so that your profitability will be greater,” the President noted.

Just last week, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said that approximately 9,000,000 bags of paddy are expected to be harvested in the first crop of 2025.

In addition to this, the Guyana Rice Development (GRDB) and local rice millers, inked an official agreement that will see rice farmers receiving no less than $4,000 for a bag of paddy for the first crop of 2025.

He said that over the last four years, the government has invested in infrastructure to support the expansion of the agricultural sector and has also made inputs available to assist with lowering the costs associated with rice cultivation.

“As a government, we recognise the value of the rice industry, and that is why we’ve been making inputs available. For this crop, the 233,000 acres, when we examine the estimated amount of paddy to be harvested, [it] is around 9,000,000 bags. We removed the VAT from the inputs in agriculture. In two instances, fertiliser was procured and given to farmers.”

In 2024, rice production surpassed its target and reached an all-time high of 725,282 metric tonnes, representing a record-breaking milestone in the country’s agricultural sector.

During Sunday’s engagement, several farmers lauded the President for his proactive assistance in supporting farmers.

One farmer noted that Hague and the surrounding communities have improved. He said that the consistent drainage and irrigation in the area has made the daily life for farmers a lot easier.

Though there were not many concerns, President Ali vowed to examine the few challenges that were discussed during the meeting.