–over 20 million pounds produced so far for 2024

AS of May, 2024, Guyana has produced more than 20 million pounds of cassava, and now the government is examining value-added prospects and lucrative markets to earn more from the increased production.

This was according to President Dr Irfaan Ali during a community engagement with residents of Bonasika Creek, Region Three (Essequibo islands- West Demerara residents), on Tuesday.
According to the Head of State, a new variety was introduced and this has seen the yield doubling, moving from 15 tonnes per hectare to 30 tonnes per hectare.

He said that with the increase in production, the government has done some work to stabilise the price of the ground provision on the local market. Meanwhile, opportunities exist for processing more cassava into farine and exporting to Brazil.

“We have worked to stabilise the price by the government acquiring for communities that don’t have, and have higher prices, and processing the cassava into farine, and now we are having the opportunity of taking that into the Brazilian market,” Dr Ali said.

In Bonasika Creek, the President touted the large-scale production of the crop, citing the community’s most recent production of more than 120 tonnes.
“We want to be able to move to large-scale production here; you have the perfect land, you have taken up this challenge and we introduce cassava as [a] fairly new crop to you,” he said.
In 2023, a cassava germplasm was developed as part of its crop-breeding, research, and conservation efforts in Region Nine (Upper Takutu-Upper Essequibo).

Additionally, there have been talks surrounding the development of an international airstrip at Lethem, the capital of Region Nine, to boost commercial trade with bordering Brazil and other regional states.

In March, President Ali and his Brazilian counterpart, Luiz Inácio ‘Lula’ da Silva had announced plans to further deepen bilateral ties and enhance connectivity between the two South American nations.