Guyana’s annual rice production is set to exceed 400,000 tonnes for the second time in its history and according to Guyana Rice Development Board (GRDB) General Manager Jagnarine Singh the projected landmark is owing to a combination of circumstances, including the emergence of new, more productive varieties of paddy in recent years, the application of improved technology to the industry, significant improvements in drainage and irrigation and a more aggressive approach to rice cultivation on the part of the country’s 8,000-odd rice farmers.
Last year, the industry yielded 402,450 tonnes of rice valued at US$173,259,722.
Singh told Stabroek Business that the first crop for 2012 yielded 210,000 tonnes of rice