More than $480.5 million in financial assistance was distributed to 1,618 rice farmers in Region Five on Wednesday as the government continues to provide direct support to strengthen the rice industry and safeguard farmers’ livelihoods.
The initiative was spearheaded by Minister of Agriculture Zulfikar Mustapha and fulfils a commitment made by President Dr Mohamed Irfaan Ali, ensuring rice farmers receive $300 per bag of paddy as support to offset production costs and stabilise incomes.
This intervention forms part of a wider national programme, representing a total government investment of approximately $2.1 billion, aimed at sustaining rice production, enhancing food security, and reinforcing the resilience of one of Guyana’s most important agricultural sectors.
While addressing the gathering, Minister Mustapha said the government recognises the importance of the agriculture sector and has been making the necessary investments to support its sustainable development.
“I’m happy because we are here to fulfil another promise that was made by the PPP/C government. As a government, we recognise the importance of agriculture in our country. This sector has moved tremendously. Today, Guyana is ranked number one in the world in terms of agriculture. Out of 186 countries that were studied by an international university, Guyana ranked number one as the country with the ability to produce all seven food groups and feed its population. Rice farmers are one category that continues to contribute to Guyana’s success,” he said.
The minister noted that the last cycle of assistance was paid directly to the mills, but that farmers had expressed dissatisfaction with the process.
“The first time we conducted an activity like this, the relief was paid directly to the millers; however, some farmers expressed dissatisfaction with that process. So, we listened and decided that this time around, we will pay the money to the farmers. Leaving out all other investments to develop the sector, such as the rehabilitation of drainage and irrigation structures, construction of drying floors, maintenance of canals and dams, equipment, and so on, for the first crop of 2024, as part of the $300 per bag assistance initiative, the government contributed $1.5 billion. With this second round of assistance, we will be investing $1.9 billion because the amount of rice that we produced will be over 800,000 tonnes,” Minister Mustapha said.
He further stated that while people have been speaking negatively about the government, the investments being made have allowed production levels to increase, reaching the highest production record in the country’s history.
“There are some people who are going around criticizing the government and the work that the government is doing. They are only doing this for their personal and selfish agenda in an attempt to deflect from their own criminalities. We have to be careful of the naysayers—those people who go around bad-talking the government but are not doing anything for the people of this country. The investment that this government has made in developing this industry is tremendous. In 2025, for the first time in our country’s history, we moved past the 700,000-tonne mark, producing 725,000 tonnes,” he noted.
He further said that while the MMA Scheme is the largest agricultural scheme in the country, its facilities were not conducive to development. This, he noted, changed when the PPP/C government took office in 2020.
“This is the largest agricultural scheme in the country. When I became Minister of Agriculture, this scheme had dilapidated drainage and irrigation structures and two excavators that were inoperable. Today, we have a fleet of approximately eight machines. Hundreds of kilometres of canals and dams are being maintained,” the minister said.
Similar distribution exercises are scheduled for other rice-growing regions in the coming days.