The rice industry in this country continues to make rapid progress, and is said to be poised to replace “king sugar” as our main agricultural crop on the export market.
On the whole, the Guyana government’s unflinching policy on agriculture over the years have borne fruit, and today rice farmers in particular could look back at the industry with pride and optimism. This is indeed a far cry from the past when the    former PNC government had ground the industry to a virtual halt, and farmers were left in a state of despair.
It is worthy of note that rice has broken all barriers and recorded its highest ever production last year with a record-breaking 401,904 tonnes. Today, rice farmers throughout the country find solace in the rich rice legacy left behind by their forefathers. Rice cultivation and its importance to both the economy and people of this country go back to the 1860s. Prior to this, the commodity was  imported from India to the then British Guiana as it was a staple diet among the Indian indentured labourers who had arrived earlier in 1838 to work on sugar plantations in the country. Before 1865, British Guiana was importing rice from India at a rate of about 22,000 tons annually at a cost of over 220,000 British pounds.
With the passage of time, and under compelling circumstances, rice development in British Guiana took shape, and has since grown to be among this country’s top economic contributors. Rice cultivation in the then British Guiana started around the mid-1860s when rice-planting was introduced by the indentured labourers, who had opted to make British Guiana their home following the completion of their indentureship stint here.
But we must recognise the fact that those East Indians who came from Uttar Pradesh, and especially those from the Calcutta region were very familiar with rice-growing. These were indeed the first set of lives in human form that used the ingenuity that was welded to their resolve to exist, that entered into rice cultivation. History has taught us that this rice culture was handed down from generation to generation, and today more than 12,000 rice farmers and their families are enjoying the fruits of this rich, rice culture.
Rice has really kept all Guyana proud in recent years, because while other sectors of the economy were limping along in some cases, rice held its own and continued to grow from strength to strength. According to a review undertaken by our Ministry of Agriculture, the growth in revenues has been underpinned by a 15.5 percent increase in the US dollar value of rice exports. This has upped the rice export earning figures from US $59,361,868 to US$68,586,947 for the 2009 first crop. The review also states that the area under cultivation was increased by 7.2 percent and this netted a 4.4 percent increase in production. The review further states that the first crop in 2010 jumped to 157,234 tonnes from 124,277 tonnes in 2009.
We see the record increase in the production of rice last year as a giant step forward in the rice industry. This would obviously lead to the further enhancement of rice farmers who are quite deserving of the gains that might  accrue in the industry through better yields per hectare and better prices for paddy and rice, both on the local and international markets. It is likely that the growth syndrome will continue as the government through its Ministry of Agriculture believes, and quite rightly so, that rice will continue to play a pivotal role in the economic development if this country and its people. In making the announcement of 2011 being a record-breaking year for rice production, Minister of Agriculture, Dr. Leslie Ramsammy,stated:
“Even as I look forward to another record-breaking year for rice in 2012, These I would like to congratulate the rice farmers of Guyana for continuing to build the rice industry in Guyana. The rice farmers continue to overcome climate change and other adverse conditions and are not only feeding our people, but producing rice to meet the increasing demand on the international market.”
words could lead only to our rice farmers resolving to make this year one of outstanding achievement for the rice industry as long as the government keeps providing the expertise and other prerequisites that would accelerate the production process.