By News Source Guyana

President Irfaan Ali has promised rice farmers that the Government will be working along with them to address a “complex” period for the farmers who are currently grappling with low prices for the yields.

Speaking to private cane and rice farmers on Wednesday in Berbice, the President said Government is aware of the situation and will be working with the local farmers to bring the situation under control.

“The situation is very complex at the moment because you have dumping, you have falling prices, you have oversupply, you have bumper crops all over the world. You also have markets that have outstanding money millers, so it is a very complex environment that we are operating and as government we are trying to navigate through that programme,” the President said.

Rice farmers from across the country have been urging the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), to step up during the current crop and purchase their paddy directly.

The President told the Berbice rice farmers that the Government will eventually move to build paddy storage facilities in rice producing regions, where there will be stockpiling of rice so the issues the farmers currently face would be a thing of the past.

“Because we want rice to succeed, we want you to continue to plant, we are going to continue to invest in better variety to give you higher yield, so we have to have the appropriate infrastructure to support these investments,” the President noted.

Additionally, the President promised that the Government will be turning to international experts to examine the conversion of some rice lands to lands for alternative crops.

Meanwhile, Agriculture Minister, Zulfikar Mustapha, said the high cost of production is among the worrying issues being faced by rice farmers. He said that issue is also exacerbated by land rentals.

The Agriculture Minsiter said said there needs to be a culture shift in the rice growing sector, although that sector has been performing well.

“The government has been making the contribution in terms of fertilizer, in terms of reducing the cost for fuel—which now has zero taxes , the vat is now off of Agricultural machinery and chemicals and things like that, so we are contributing to reducing the cost, but at the same time at your level, you have to ensure that you change the culture that you have,” the Minister urged.

Meanwhile, as it relates to sugar, the President said that Government has received two proposals for the Skeldon factory—one to re-establish the factory and another for a coconut plant. He explained that both proposals would require discussions on their long-term feasibility.

Additionally, he said the Government will be working with the Dominican Republic and the Roraima State of Brazil, to push other crops with soil testing mechanisms.

Published Date: September 19, 2025