AS the second rice crop for 2025 gets underway, Minister of Agriculture, Zulfikar Mustapha, will commence a series of nationwide consultations with rice farmers and millers.
According to a press statement on Sunday, the outreach, which is being conducted in collaboration with senior officials from the Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB), is part of the government’s ongoing efforts to foster open dialogue and strengthen partnerships within the rice industry.

The consultations will take place across the country’s major rice-producing regions throughout this week.
According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the meetings aim to address key issues and concerns related to the current crop, as well as to provide stakeholders with updates and guidance on best practices.

It was previously reported that the rice industry’s target for the first crop of this year has already been surpassed, marking a strong start toward meeting the overall national goal of 824,000 tonnes for 2025.

The country’s production had reached a record high in 2024. The yield increased from 5.7 tonnes in 2020 to 6.6 tonnes per hectare in 2024 for the last four years.

This incremental increase in rice production has been ongoing since 2021, when production was at 559,789 tonnes. In 2022, it increased to 610,595 tonnes, and 653,706 tonnes in 2023.

Mustapha had said: “Since the introduction of rice production in our country, we have surpassed the 700,000 tonnes, with an average national yield of 6.6 tonnes per hectare, the highest ever recorded in the country’s history.”

Meanwhile, the country exported 425,490 tonnes of rice and byproducts to 30 countries at a value of over US$245,000,000 in 2024.
New markets were also unlocked with Guyana supplying rice to Africa and retaining other markets within the Caribbean and across the region.