Despite the persistent La Nina conditions experienced this year, the rice industry has recorded some 202,077 metric tonnes of rice for the first crop.
Agriculture Minister Robert Persaud looks on as a shipment of local paddy being loaded for Venezuela
The Agriculture Ministry said in a release that, according to harvesting statistics collected by the Guyana Rice Development Board, rice production for the first crop (spring crop) is 202,077 metric tonnes, the equivalent of 4,894,270 bags of paddy. This has surpassed the highest first crop experienced in 1999, where 189,565 metric tonnes of rice or 4,689,138 bags of paddy were recorded.
The ministry stated that the highest annual rice production ever was in 1999, when a production of 365,469 metric tonnes was recorded. This is followed by the 2010 production of 361,527 metric tonnes. It is anticipated that this year’s rice production will surpass all previous years, with this year’s target being approximately 400,000 metric tonnes, the highest ever.
The ministry said that more than 20,000 acres of rice were threatened, but losses were minimised. The ministry attributes the increase in production to the investments made in the drainage and irrigation sector, rice research, and the resilience of farmers and other stakeholders within the rice industry. Farmers, millers and other stakeholders within the rice industry are being encouraged to work together to transform and modernise the sector to make 2011 the most productive year for the industry.
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